10,001
by RavageDarkness
Summary: There weren't 10,000 players during the launch of Sword Art Online. There were actually 10,001. I know this because I was that extra player. The name is Chalquin. And this is my story.
1. Chapter 1

"Chalmers, are you ready?"

I looked up from the book I was reading to look at the front of the cell. The warden was there, flanked by two guards. I closed the book and placed it off to the side on my bed. I stood up from it and stretched my arms out.

"I guess today is the day you lay it all out, huh Quinton?" I heard my cellmate say. I looked up at him as he sat up on the top bunk.

"Yeah," I said. "I'll be back, Donnie."

"Hopefully, it's good news. I think I speak for everyone in this block when I say you've been here long enough."

"Yeah, well, acquittals can only do so much when you went through what I went through. Besides, I have to finish reading _1632_ before I leave here." I smiled slightly. "Wish me luck, homie."

"Good luck."

I nodded before I walked up to the front of the cell. Once the food slot opened up, I brought my hands through it. I heard the sound of small clicks as the handcuffs were put around his wrists.

"Man, you should be giving his skinny behind a protein bar," I heard someone off from the distance. "He probably can't even hold up those handcuffs! …With his skinny behind!" At that, I couldn't help but chuckle. I pulled my hands back, allowing the warden to open the cell. With the cell open, I stepped out into the corridor.

"Well, let's take that walk," the warden said.

"After you, Hanley" I said quietly.

He nodded. The four of us made our walk to the elevator. During this, a lot of the prisoners in the block started to yell out things towards me – words of encouragement, compliments, and lighthearted jabs and jokes.

"They're rather pleasant to you, Chalmers," Hanley said in a partially bemused tone.

"They're not bad people," I said. "They've done bad things in the past, but they're not bad people."

The rest of the walk to the interrogation room was rather quiet. Once we were there, Hanley opened the door, allowing the guards to escort me. Inside was an old metal desk. On one side was one steel chair, where I took a seat. On the other side were two more seats, one which was taken up by a man who was dressed in a black suit with reddish brown hair and dark green eyes. A blonde woman in a white button-up shirt and a business skirt was busy adjusting the camera. On the desk was a pitcher of water along with three glasses. Next to them were two legal pads a few pends.

Once the guards closed the door, the man in front of me smiled.

"Nice to see you again, Quinton," he said.

"Likewise, Mr. Walters," I replied.

"I believe we're at the point where you can just call me Matthew." He then signaled towards the woman. "I believe you remember Nancy Hardy."

"I do," I said. I looked at Nancy. "How was the weekend in Miami?"

"It was pretty refreshing," she replied as she made one more adjustment on the camera. She then opened up the viewfinder and stared into it. "The weather was nice. Not a single raincloud in sight."

"That's good to hear," I said.

"Is the camera ready?" Matthew asked. Nancy apparently pressed the Record button after that, because the red light came on.

"It is," she said. She then carefully took a seat. As she picked up a legal pad and a pen, Matthew spoke.

"Alright, I'm going to ask you a few basic questions, just so we can get a good idea of your lucidity," he said. "Name?"

"Quinton Adarius Chalmers," I replied.

"Date of Birth?"

"July the seventh, 2007."

"Race?"

"African-American."

"Height and weight?"

"6'1"… 155 pounds according to my last check up." Maybe that protein bar wasn't a bad idea after all.

"Do you know why you're being incarcerated?"

"Yes." I nodded as I said that. "I was originally incarcerated for a five year sentence for aiding and abetting in an attempted drug trafficking. However, after a successful appeal, due in no small part to you, my defense attorney, I was acquitted. However, prior to the acquittal, the prison acquired a NerveGear helmet from Argus. This was an effort to use Virtual Reality as a means to rehab the inmates. My block – Block D - was chosen due to generally good behavior, and most of the block chose me to be the first to use it. From what I was told, the NerveGear came with increased memory. And the reason was because it carried a digital copy of Sword Art Online. Because of that, I ended up trapped in the game for two years before I was freed." I then raised my eyebrows slightly. "AAAND, because of that fiasco, I'm not allowed to be released from prison till I can demonstrate that I won't be a threat to the public."

I guess this is the part where I introduce myself. The name is Quinton Adarius Chalmers.

My online name is Chalquin.

And I'm an SAO survivor.


	2. Chapter 2

"Okay, it seems as if you're good to go," Matthew said. "I want you to start from the beginning – the day everyone was trapped."

"Alright," I said with a nod. "About fifteen minutes before the game launch, I was in the med bay of this prison. It was the only place where a bed was nearby a suitable power source for the NerveGear."

88888888888

"Now, remember the rules," Hanley said as I went about tapping my hands all over my body to calibrate the NerveGear.

"Twenty-fours in the game, then I log out and pass it off to the next inmate," I said. I looked at Hanley and nodded. "I got it."

"Good." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a meal bar. He then handed it to me. "I know you already ate, but I need you to consume this. You're gonna be under for 24 hours. I wouldn't want you waking up _too_ hungry."

"And people call you a jerk," I said with a smirk. I took the meal bar from, ignoring the glare he was giving me. I quickly tore open the wrapper and munched down on the bar. After I was finished, I raised my eyebrows briefly. "That piece of bark was easily the best thing I ate since I got here, thank you very much."

"…You're welcome… I guess."

"Five more minutes," one of the guards said.

"Alright, let's get you on the bed."

I nodded before I moved to the bed near the outlet. I took sat down on it before I stretched my arms out. I then turned my body as I laid myself out. With me on my back, one of the guards connected a USB cable into a slot near the back of the NerveGear.

"Okay, charger is in just in case," the guard said. "Do your thing."

I moved my eyes around as I looked at the options that were on the HUD. "Games," I muttered out. A mass of hexagons moved before it showed all of the games that came preloaded on the unit. There were a few simple games there for the sake of demonstration – small "pack-in" titles like Kickball and Fruit Ninja FullDive. However, I knew what I was there for.

"Play Sword Art Online."

The hexagon showing the Sword Art Online logo enlarged while the rest of them faded away. Then the countdown appeared. I waited as patiently as I could, do everything in my power to keep my giddiness down to a semi-wide smile.

 _Twenty-four hours,_ I thought to myself. _Gonna have to live it up before I wait a whole entire month to do it again._

Eventually, the countdown started to come to an end.

 _0:05…_

 _0:04…_

 _0:03…_

 _0:02…_

 _0:01…_

…

…

 _Game Ready!_

"Link start!" I exclaimed.

Immediately, my whole vision was flooded with white light. I then felt myself being pulled. As I was being pulled, the game was making its checks – language, account information, etcetera. Once it detected that I was a first time player, I was placed into an area that was basically sky. In front of me was a carousel of available avatar options.

"Yeah, that's gonna be a no for me," I said. I reached out and touched the option to make my own from scratch. I didn't spend too much time on it. I merely made one based on my general attributes, such as the color of my skin, hair, eyes, and etctera. I chose my name last. I took some time to think of it before I decided on a fusion of my first and last name. I thought it over in my head before I decided on Chalquin – I figured it sounded medieval enough.

Once that was done, I was overtaken by light again. Mere seconds later, I was in the middle of a large medieval town. The town was already filled with a lot of people, with many more logging in. Right in front of me was a large palace that looked as if it was made out of some black metal. I looked around the town and smiled.

"The Town of Beginnings," I said. I then brought my right hand up and swiped it downward, pulling up the menu. I went through it until I brought up the tutorial. After perusing it for a bit, I pulled up the amount of currency I had.

1,000 Cor.

"Okay, time to get a weapon, some armor, and try to get some grinding in."

I explored the town for a bit, using some of my money to get some light leather armor with a hood and a Knightly Sword. Once that was done, I ended up hitting up the wilderness outside of the town.

I saw the open field, looking at the hills. Around me, several players were attacking boars and even some wolves. I then spotted a hog by its lonesome as it grazed on some grass. Smiling, I drew my sword.

"Okay, what did they say about sword skills?" I said to myself. I took in a breath and concentrated. I then felt my sword vibrate slightly as it glowed. After that, I immediately ran forward. The boar heard me, and it quickly turned around, but it was too late. I swung my blade, aiming for its neck. I didn't hit its neck, but I ended up chopping off half of its head. I came to a stop before looking over my shoulder just in time to see the beast shatter into red lights.

"Not bad," I chuckled out. I then looked in front of me as a box popped up, showing the Cor and experience I gained, along with the boar meat. "Hmmm… if I kill enough of these boars, I can recoup some of what I spent." After accepting the rewards, I pulled up, my menu to check the time. "22 hours and… 23 minutes. Plenty of time." I spent the next few hours out in the field slaying the beasts that appeared.

It was during this time I met Agil.

There were a pack of wolves that spawned as me and few other players arrived in this one area. One of those players stuck out. He was a rather tall dude who towered over everyone else, using a large battle axe for his weapon of his choice. But what really stuck out to me was that he was black like me.

Keep in mind, Sword Art Online launched in Japan, a country with an extremely low African-American population. Due to the prison pulling some strings and Argus acquiescing to the request, I was the only player outside of Japan playing the game.

We struck down the wolves, though it took some difficulty. After taking in a breath, I looked around the other players, who were talking happily amongst themselves in Japanese. A part of me wanted to be bothered by the fact that I couldn't understand – I really wanted to chat with them. But I realized that I was only going to be logged into this game once a month, anyway. Would they have even remembered me?

And that was when the large man stepped up to me. He spoke in a deep voice, speaking Japanese. I furrowed my eyebrows up as I titled my head in confusion. His eyebrows rose slightly. He then spoke again, this time in plain English.

"So you're not from Japan," he said. I shook my head.

"No," I replied. "I actually live stateside." I sheathed my sword before I brought my right hand out. "I'm Chalquin."

"Agil," he replied as he took my hand and gave it a shake. "Pleased to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine."

"So you're from The States," he mused as he began to walk. I walked along with him. "How were you able to get a copy of the game?"

"The… boarding school I'm in has some connections," I said. "As a reward for good behavior, our floor was given a NerveGear with a digital copy of the game pre-loaded in the memory. The only condition is that one of us got 24 hours to play before we log out and pass off to the next student. There are 30 of us, so I'd be logging in once a month." A part of me felt bad for lying, but I wasn't exactly comfortable with divulging the fact that I was a convict serving time for a drug-related accessory charge. "How about you? Are you from the U.S., too?"

"No," he said with a shake of his head. "But my parents were. They vacationed to Japan and fell in love with it. So, they moved there. And that was where I was born. I bought the game for my wife and me to play. I tried to buy two copies, but I was only able to get one from a store I went to. So, my wife and I made a bet over who got to play first. And, as you can see, I won." He smiled widely. "Though, I can't wait play with her. She'd love it here."

"I could imagine," I said as I looked around the area. "This is freaking incredible. It's just a shame I can only experience this once a month."

"Well, let's make the best of it, then."

After slaying some more beasts and earning some more experience, Agil and I set up a small campfire. I cooked up some of the boar meat I gathered before I shared it with him. As we ate, we talked about different topics, from what we thought the first boss would be like to literature. He even talked about this bar and café he owns called The Dicey Café. We talked for about an hour before he stood up.

"Well, I have to go," he said. "I have to get the bar ready for tonight. It's been fun, but there's money to be made and bills to be paid."

"Yeah, I understand," I said. I stood up as well. "Hey, maybe I can tell the next guy up to come seek you out." I stuck my hand out. "See you next month."

"Likewise, my friend," he replied as he took my hand. After we shook hands, he turned around and pulled up his menu. During this, I went about putting the fire out, reflecting on the great day I had so far.

And that's when everything started to go to hell.

"That's odd," I heard him say. I turned around and looked at him.

"What's wrong, Agil?" I asked.

"I'm unable to log out."

I furrowed my eyebrows up in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"There's no option to log out. It's just a greyed out icon."

I raised an eyebrow, then opened up my menu. "Maybe it's just a glitch on your end," I suggested. However, I tried looking for the Logout option for mine, only to see a greyed out icon myself. I tapped the icon a few times, but nothing. "…That's… concerning."

"It is." He looked at me with furrowed up eyebrows. His expression then softened. "Maybe it's just an error in the game. I'm sure someone has contacted the admin regarding this."

"Yeah, maybe you're right," I said. I was about to let it go for a moment and ask Agil if he wanted to grab something to eat at the tavern back in town. But then I saw him shattered into light blue lights before disappearing. A second later I saw a flash of light. And just a second after that, I was no longer in the field. I was in front of the fountain in The Town of Beginnings. Once again, there were a lot of people in the courtyard of the town, with many more porting in. I looked to my right to see Agil. I then looked around to see some people talking frantically and worriedly amongst themselves.

"…They're worried," Agil said.

"Yeeeeaaaah, my ability to speak and understand Japanese may be next to non-existent, but this tension in the air is breaking language barriers," I replied as I continued to look around. That actually drew a chuckle from the larger man.

We didn't have to wait too long. Eventually, red hexagons filled up the sky. Each hexagon has the phrases "Warning" and "System Announcement" enclosed in them. While others looked up in worry, I was relieved, thinking that there was going to be announcement regarding a patch for the logging out issue. That hope was a little bit dimmed when I saw blood flowing down from that same sky.

"What kind of Silent Hill stuff is this?" I asked as I looked up at the sky. The blood then formed some kind of hooded figure whose face wasn't seen. He then spoke. As he did, Agil translated and paraphrased it for me.

"It's not a glitch," Agil said in a calm voice. However, the expression on his face showed a hint of distress. "According to Kayaba Akihiko, the game's creator, the inventor of the FullDive technology, and the one who is currently speaking through the avatar up there, we're trapped in the game. The only way we can log out is by beating all 100 floors. If you die in the game, you die in real life. If someone in real life tries to remove the helmet from your head, you die."

"What?!" I exclaimed. "How?!"

"The NerveGear uses microwave transceivers to access the user's brains to fake sensory signals while blocking movement commands from the brain. Those same microwave transceivers can send high powered microwaves to shut down the user's vital functions." As he said this, the floating avatar… Kayaba… opened up several windows, which showed reports from around the world about the deaths as well as the players being trapped.

"People have died already," Agil said, his eyebrows rising in horror as he did so. I was at a loss for words at that moment. I just didn't know what to say or do. I would have stayed like that had I not got a notice of a new item in my inventory.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I need right now," I said sarcastically as I went through the menu. "A freaking first-day item." After tapping the item, a mirror appeared in front of me. I grabbed it and looked at it. I scoffed. "…Really? A mirror?" The mirror then glowed, flooding my vision with white light.

At that moment, I came to the conclusion that the whole white light thing was getting real old, real fast.

I was still in the same place after it faded. However, everyone around me looked a bit different… or completely different in the case of the boy who was wearing women's armor. Kayaba spoke again, which Agil translated.

"Our avatars now look like our real selves," he said, facing me. I looked at Agil. He looked a bit taller than before. He his head was clean-shaven and he sported a black goatee. I wonder what he thought of me. No doubt he saw how young I was. No doubt he noticed the scar that ran from underneath my right eye to my cheek, ending just to the right of the corner of my mouth. I ran my hand through my head full of dreadlocks, which reached down to my neck. "You really are a young one."

"Oh come on," I said with a nervous laugh. "You don't look a day over 25." He smiled briefly as he shook his head.

"…Well, given the circumstances, we can't stay here," he said. He then turned to walk. "You're coming along?"

I nodded. Of course I was coming along. The man was my only lifeline. He was the only person I knew I could communicate with directly. So, without question I walked with him.


	3. Chapter 3

Matthew nodded as he took some notes. I turned my head when I heard the sound of something being pushed towards me. Turns out, it was a glass full of water. I looked up at Nancy, who gave me a sympathetic smile. I smiled slightly and nodded before I picked up the glass and started drinking from it.

"So, you were all trapped in the game," Matthew said. "Did you wonder whether or not that it was some kind of a ruse?"

"No," I said as I sat my glass down. "For one, those sites he showed were legit. At least, the ones that was in English, anyway. Plus, even if I did consider that it might have been a ruse, I wasn't going to risk my life trying to call his bluff."

At that, Matthew nodded. "So, you were rolling with Agil in the beginning. What did you two do?" 

"Well, Agil is a levelheaded man. So, I followed his lead. He did the wisest anyone could have done in that situation."

88888888888

"I'm so glad that this game at least translates the manual," I said as I read through it.

"I'm glad that the Beta Testers didn't skimp on the details," Agil added. "Though, it should come with a grain of salt."

"Why? You don't trust them?"

"It's not that. A lot of the information they're providing are based on the Beta. Things can change during the development process. Still, it's good to read over it."

The two of us were in a tavern on the first floor. It was dimly lit by candlelight and it was half empty. The people that were there were still talking about the bombshell that was dropped. As we continued to read, I made a note to pay attention to the weapons that dropped from enemy encounters.

"Speaking of trust," Agil stated. "Forgive me for asking, but I do want to know – is it true what you said? About how you got into the game, that is." I looked over at him. "I just happen to notice the scar across your face, and it makes me wonder about your story."

"…My story was mostly true," I said slowly. I paused for a bit. I didn't want to tell him, but the man already shared a lot about himself already. If we were going to have each other's backs, then he had the right to know who he was rolling with. "I'm not at a boarding school. I'm in a juvenile prison. The floor I referred to was actually a cell block. But everything else I said was true."

"I see," he said, not even a hint of judgement in his voice. "What were you in for?"

"Aiding and abetting in drug trafficking," I said.

"Was the charge just?"

"No. I mean, technically, I did do it. But I didn't know what I was doing until things started to go left."

"Okay." He then went back to reading. I looked at him for a few seconds afterwards. I expected him to say something else on the matter, but he didn't. Deciding to let it go, I kept on reading myself.

"So what's the game plan?" I asked. "Are we fighting, or are we just going to wait this out?"

"We'll need to find the floor boss," he said. "And we'll need to get stronger along the way. Also, you'll need to learn Japanese." I looked over at him. He looked up from his manual and gave me a very serious look. "I have no problem being your translator, but there may be a chance I don't survive this game. If that were to happen, I don't want you to be by yourself with no one to really communicate with."

"That's logical… and a bit morbid," I replied with a nervous chuckle. I didn't even want to think about that possibility. I only knew the man for some hours at that point, but the fact that there may be a chance that he could die before he was reunited with his wife bothered me quite a bit.

During the first month, we went on different quests, stocking up on items and Cor. Every day, we spent at least an hour on him teaching me teaching Japanese. I thought it was hopeless at first. But over time, I was able to understand bits and pieces of what the other players were saying. Agil still needed to translate for me, but progress was progress.

I would have been happier about it all had it not been for the fact that no one founded the first boss yet and around 2,000 people died during that time. And from what we heard, it wasn't always by creatures or traps in the game. It was hearsay, but there have been rumors of suicides and a group of players that banded together to do murders for money. I wasn't too optimistic to think that everyone who was in the plaza during that fateful day was going to make it out the game alive. But there were 100 floors we needed to clear, and we lost 2,000 people on the first floor alone in a span of 30 days. Add the apparent suicides and threat of players killing other players and… well, it was pretty disheartening.

"You know," I grunted as I pulled the sword from the neck of the masked man. "I hope we find this boss soon enough." The Congratulations message appeared above my head. "Because I'm a bit afraid that I'm we're going run out of quests."

"You and I both," Agil replied in agreement as he walked up to my side. We went through the drops we received. I scrolled through it before I stopped at one weapon item. I narrowed my eyes as I tried to read the item's name. "Thief King's… Grappling Hook?" I looked over at Agil. "Did I read that right?"

"You did," Agil said. "It looks like the main prize for this quest." He then nudged my arm with an elbow. "Keep it."

"You sure?" I asked.

"I'm sure." He smiled. "Besides, Battle Axes are more of my thing."

"Alright." I accepted the awards that were given, including the kill bonus. I then opened up my menu and went about equipping the grappling hook. My sword disappeared. Then the grappling hook appeared in my hands. I examined the weapon, taking note of the four-pronged hook. I looked around the Thief King's Lair until I spotted a statue off in the distance.

"Okay, let's see if I can use it properly," I said. I swung the hook around in my hand. Once I felt it vibrate, I released the rope, letting it fly. I watched it as it embedded itself in the statue. Smiling, I pulled on the rope, causing the statue to topple over. I smirked. "I think I'm going to hold on to you."

Once we left the lair, the sun was already setting. So, we made our way back to town and went to the tavern to grab something to eat. We were at a table waiting for our food when the front door was kicked open. Everyone in the tavern went quiet as they saw a man run up to the bar counter. He then proceeded to jump onto it. After taking a moment to catch his breath, he turned towards the patrons and yelled out what seemed to be an announcement. When he was done, everyone murmured amongst themselves. Out of everything he said, I was only able to make out a few words – "boss", "meeting", and "tomorrow".

"…Was that something about the Floor Boss?"

"A meeting regarding it," Agil said. "There's a meeting going down tomorrow, and it's open to those who are still training and/or searching for the boss." He smiled. "I think they might have found the boss."

"About freaking time!" I yelled out as I threw my hands up in the air. I got a few looks from people nearby, but I didn't care. "I really hope that's the case."

"You seem rather excited," Agil said as I lowered my arms. "You do remember what's at stake, right?"

"Yeah, I do. I just don't want to sit around and do nothing while other people are fighting. My life shouldn't be totally in their hands." What I didn't tell him at the time was that my faith in the other players (aside from him) took a huge hit when the death toll was announced.

"Just be careful," he warned. "I really don't want you to die before you're able to get released from prison."

"I won't," I said.

We each rented out a room for the night. I sat on my bad and looked over my gear. My sword and grappling hook was good enough for this level – or, at least, I figured, it was supposed to be. But I wondered if I could do any better with the armor. I avoided the metal stuff for the most part, wanting to stay as light as possible.

I valued my speed.

Deciding to just make it a point to hit up the market in the morning, I changed into my sleeping ware – mere grey shorts and a white t-shirt – and went to bed.

When I woke up the next morning, I immediately went down to the market to see what they had available. After some searching, I just gave my leather armor to the NPC tailor. From there, I went to NPC Smith to upgrade my sword and hook, upping the accuracy on both. I was finally set.

After Agil and I met for breakfast, we went over to the meeting place, skipping our usual morning grind. A part of me was glad for it. We spent so much time on the first floor that, at our levels, the gains were becoming rather miniscule. Along the way, however, we kept up with the normal start to the Japanese lessons – trying to carry a simple conversation.

"[So, how was your morning]?" he asked.

"[It was good]," I replied tentatively, speaking slowly. My Japanese has gotten a lot better, but I still wasn't fluent, or even semi-fluent. "[I got my armor repaired and weapons upgraded. I think I'm ready for the day.]"

"[Good, good. Question, did you ever play sports before you were… incarcerated]."

"[I played American Football]." I paused for a moment, finding it a bit funny that I had to add the word "American" there to differentiate from what I normally would call football. "[I played Running Back and Free Safety. I wore number 21]."

"[…You know, I think there'd be a team in Japan who'd be interested in you]."

"[I'm serving five years. By the time I get out, I'd be 20 years old. I think my football career is dead.]"

Our conversation ended when we reached the small amphitheater. We took our seats and waited for other people to come. Some people filed in, including this one girl who wore a cloak and a hood. Once it seemed as if no more people were coming, the guy with aqua hair stood up and walked up to the front. He then faced the crowd before he spoke.

As Agil translated for me, the man was named Diabel, and said that he was a Knight. I closed my eyes before rolling them. There weren't any classes in the game, and I really saw no point in embracing a game that could possibly be the death of us.

"Well, on to the reason for this meeting. Most of you may already know this, but it bears repeating – we found the boss room."

 _Finally! Freaking Finally!_

He went on a whole speech about how we needed to beat this boss on the first try due to us spending a long time on the first floor and the amount of deaths that occurred. Most of the people in the crowd cheered. I merely looked ahead, trying to keep calm. After that, he asked us to form groups of six. I saw four people move around us. I then saw multiple friend requests in front of my face. I reached up and hit the blue circle on all of them. I didn't even remember their name at the time.

The meeting was about to continue, but then somebody came jumping onto the stage. I found out later on that his name is Kibaou. I couldn't quite understand what he was saying. All I picked up was "Beta Testers" and "abandonment".

"What's his problem?" I asked. Agil sighed, which made me raise an eyebrow. Agil was nothing if not polite, but that sigh gave me an impression that he had a low opinion of the guy.

"He believes that the Beta Testers amongst the crowd should apologize for the 2,000 deaths and give up all their items and money to the first time players," he replied. I blinked a couple of times and gave him a look of confusion. "He believes that the Beta Testers have taken the best quests and items for themselves."

"…But they're the ones who have been writing the guides…"

"I know. Let me set the record straight before infighting is incited."

He stood up. Once again, I was reminded by how large he was. He spoke to both Kibaou and the crowd, explaining to them that the information was readily available because of the Beta Testers, even pulling out the manual as he did so. During that, I kept my eyes locked in on Kibaou.

I started to have a certain feeling in my gut. It was the same feeling I got when I decided to give a ride to a guy who just happened to be a friend of a friend of mine. And considering that led to me getting locked up for something I didn't really have anything to do with, something told me that Kibaou wasn't to be trusted.

Agil retook his seat next to me. I leaned over to him and spoke in English. "I think we need to be careful around him," I whispered.

"I concur."


	4. Chapter 4

"So, this Kibaou," Matthew began. "I take it that you're not a fan of his."

"No," I said with a shake of my head. "I can't quite put it into words, mostly because I made it a point to clean up my language." I paused. "I made a promise to the Chaplin. But, even if I was inclined to say the words I'd use to describe Kibaou, it'd be an understatement." I sighed. "He was a jerk. Because of him, there was a whole witch hunt for beta testers that lasted for a few months. And even when that ended, beta testers were looked down upon by some people as thieves and swindlers that were only looking out for themselves."

"And you believed that was unfair?" Matthew tiled his head. "I mean, you have to admit – there were 1,000 beta testers. You can't assume that all of them were looking out for everyone else."

"I can't assume that every defense attorney genuinely cares about their clients. Does that make it fair for me to think you're representing me for some ulterior motive?"

"…Touché," Matthew conceded.

"Look, I wouldn't be surprised if there were some beta testers who were looking out for themselves," I admitted. "But, there were a lot of people working on the guidebooks. They really didn't have to. And the last thing I wanted was for them to be given a good reason to basically go 'You know what? Screw you all', you know?"

"Right," Matthew said with a nod. "So, how did that boss fight go?"

"Well, we beat it," I said. "Though, not without a casualty."

88888888888

After the meeting, Agil and I went to the field to grind some more. I decided to work on my unarmed skill at Agil's suggestion. It was interesting putting hands on a hogs and wolves, but it made sense. It was possible for someone to be disarmed of their weapon, and I didn't want to be left defenseless should that happen. We were at it until sundown. After that, we went on a simple killing quest – basically, we had to kill a pack of wolves for a shepherd.

I hated to admit it, but because of the game, I proudly say that I punched a bunch of wolves to death.

The next day, we all arrived at the boss room, Diabel laid down the plan. The squads were divided into two parties. One party would focus on the boss while the other party focused on keeping the boss's sentinels off of their backs so they can focus. Earlier in the morning, Diabel laid out the boss's attack patterns, which Agil and I memorized just in case things went to hell.

Diabel pushed the door to the Boss's room open. I readied my sword, as I walked in the rest of them.

"Remember what I told you about Switching," Agil reminded. I nodded.

The large room was dark at first. But then it brightened up. I got a good look at the creature. It was like this large red dog-like creature that stood on two legs. Like the information said, it was wielding an axe and a shield. Its four life bar's appeared, along with its name – Illfang the Kobold Lord. I raised my fist and tapped the side of it against Agil's arm.

"Go get 'im, Big A," I said. He nodded.

"Just remember to put your feelings aside and follow Kibaou's lead," he replied. I sighed before I moved towards Kibaou along with these two other folks – a swordsman with black eyes and black hair and a girl wearing a cloak. I didn't know at the time, but those two were Kirito and Asuna. Kibaou spoke. I understood enough to know that he was reminding us that he was the leader of the group. During this, I gave the boy with black hair a side-eyed look. He returned the look. We didn't say a word, but our looks said it all.

We were getting tired of Kibaou.

We had no time to dwell on it. As soon as Kibaou went over the plan, Illfang's sentinels appeared, donning cloaks and wielding swords. As was planned, I ran at the nearest run. It brought its blade around, trying to slash me. I brought my sword upward to parry the blow. After the two blades met with a clang, I shoved the sentinel back.

"Switch!" I yelled out. I backed away, allowing Kibaou to come in and finish off the monster with a stab through its chest. He then proceeded to move forward to the next. He parried the sword blow before yelling out "Switch!" I quickly ran in. My felt my sword vibrating as I swung the blade around. I aimed directly for the creatures neck, lopping it clean off.

From the corner of my eye, I saw the black-haired boy and the hooded woman switch off as they took down sentinel after sentinel. Even without watching them directly, I was at awe at how they worked together. A part of me wondered if they were beta testers that played together during the beta.

I made a note to try and pick their brains after the battle.

The four us kept on working, fighting off the sentinels with the other squads. Then Kibaou decided he was strong enough to take on three of them at once. As expected, he got overwhelmed.

"[Kibaou, you idiot!]" I yelled out. I immediately ran in front of him, and brought my sword out, blocking what would have been a killing blow to Kibaou, who was on the floor. While I was engaged, two other sentinels tried to attack me. Fortunately, they were intercepted by the other two that were with me. I pressed forward with my weight. I then removed my right hand from the hilt and balled up my fist. I felt the vibration before sent a punch directly in the hood, knocking it onto its back. I then switched the sword from my left hand to the right. I turned it in my hand, making sure the tip of the blade was aiming downward.

"Say goodnight!" I yelled out before driving the tip of the sword through the sentinel's head. I then turned it for good measure before it disappeared in shattered red lights. After that, I turned and gave Kibaou the stink-eye.

"[Stick, to, the, PLAN!]" I growled out. He looked at me with widened eyed. He then scoffed as he looked off to the side, standing off while he did so.

The boss battle was going great. So much so that I almost forgot what the stakes were going to be if I messed around and died in the game. The four of us, as well as the other support squads continued to lay waste to the sentinels until the boss was down to its final bit of health. As expected, the beast tossed away its axe and shield. It then drew this sword from its back. I actually allowed myself to smile.

So, of course, that's when everything went to hell.

Diabel rushed in, and the black haired boy screamed out for him to stop. I couldn't help but look on with wide eyes. At first, I thought that the boy was screaming at him because he broke away from the plan. Then I realized that something was off. The beast jumped into the air, then from column to column in the air.

"…What?" I said. That wasn't the attack pattern. All of a sudden, the beast came down, slashing Diabel down. My eyes went wide. I looked over at him, seeing him get cut down. I wanted to move to go check on him, but the beast moved forward and roared at us. I drew my sword, ready to attack, but the boy and the cloaked girl moved forward. Like before they, attacked in tandem. I couldn't help but look on in awe. One would deflect the attack, and the other would run in and attack its exposed belly. It was like poetry in motion. Unfortunately, they slipped up with their timing during one attack. With one swing of the sword, Illfang was able to send them flying. Fortunately, they were blocking with their blades. Unfortunately, the beast was running in.

"CHALQUIN!" I turned my head towards Agil, who ran in with a charged up axe. "We need to give them time to heal up!"

I nodded. I then ran towards Illfang. As I did so, I swiped the menu and went through my weapons. I then selected The Thief King's Grappling Hook. "I hope this works," I said to myself. Once the grapping hook was in my hands, I swung the hook around in my right hand by the rope. As I neared Illfang, Agil used an axe swing to parry the beast's sword.

"Now," I whispered to myself. I threw the hook with a sidearm throw. The hook travelled through the air, circling around as it did. The rope hit the side of Illfang's leg before it wrapped around. The hook then latched on to the hook, securing itself. Still moving forward, I brought my feet forward as I used my moment to go into a baseball slide.

I slid in between its legs and kept on sliding for some feet. I then stood up and turned around. I grunted as I moved backward, pulling on the rope. Much to my relief, I managed to force the beast to one knee. That was when the rest of the group ran in, with Agil leading the charge. As they quickly struck the beast with many strikes, I continued to pull, trying to keep the beast off balance. The beast finally pushed the group away. It then killed its leg forward, sending me flying.

When I hit the floor, I rolled from the momentum. Once I stopped, I stood up, just in time to see The Dynamic Duo at it again. They were somehow even faster than before. Half the time, all I saw was glowing slashes. The woman, whose cloak was destroyed, ran forward and managed to knock the beast in the air. Her partner-in-crime jumped into the air and sent a whole barrage of slashes, finishing it off with a deep stab. It was pretty gruesome. We watched as the boy landed in crouched. We then saw the beast fall slowly before it shattered into red lights.

When I saw the CONGRATULATIONS message, I let loose breath I didn't know I was holding before I walked through the cheering crowd. I stopped at my grappling hook before picking it up. After going through the menu, I switched out my hook for my sword. After that, I saw the rewards I received – a lot of Cor, some crystals, and a crap load of experience. I actually leveled up to level 13.

"Nice," I said. I then frowned, realizing that Diabel ate it. _Idiot… you should have just stuck to the plan!_ I shook my head. I pulled up one of my potions before I took a drink from it. I tossed the empty glass. U then looked around the room, where people were talking happily amongst themselves. The mood was rather nice, all things considered.

That was, until Kibaou started making a scene. Apparently, the boy, who I finally learned was Kirito was blamed for not only Diabel's death, but for the information not matching up with the attack pattern at the end. I rolled my eyes and ignored the whole scene at first, pulling up my menu to check my Cor total. I zoned out for some seconds as I thought about my budget before I heard the sound of clanging. I turned around to see Agil using his axe to block several blows from the sword as Kirito made his exit. Immediately, I drew my sword and quickly ran to Agil's side.

As the group backed up, Kibaou stepped up again and went on a huge rant. Agil translated for me, doing everything he could to keep the disdain out of his voice.

He said that the beaters – portmanteau of "beta" and "cheater" (insert eye roll here) – were selfish monsters who were trying to leaving the other players behind. After more name-calling and fire and brimstone, he stated that everyone should follow him to eliminate the threat of beaters.

"[So… you want us… to join… you]," I replied after the noise died down. "[Sorry, but… I'm going to have to decline]."

Kibaou was taken aback, then pointed at me and yelled. I rolled my eyes and turned away. "Shall we go, Agil?" I asked. He nodded, and we both started to walk away. Kibaou kept on yelling behind me. I was about to ignore him completely, but he started to hit a little close to home.

"[I should have known! With that scar on your face, I can tell you'd sympathize with beaters, just like any criminal would!]"

I stopped in my tracks. I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes.

I don't like being called a criminal. It not only reminded me that I was incarcerated, but it reminded me that I was in prison for a crime I didn't intentionally commit. Slowly, I turned around to face Kibaou. I tilted my head, smiled slightly and looked at him with what my cellmate Donnie would call "The Dead Eyes".

"[Please, forgive me… my Japanese is still… shaky]," I said slowly. "[However, it seems to me that you want me to… how do you say it… uh… beat your behind in front of your friends, right]?" Kibaou eyes went wide.

I turned to Agil. "Would you do me a favor and translate my words for them?" I asked. "I have some stuff I need to say." He nodded. I turned towards the group before I spoke.

"Listen," I said it. "I get it. You're upset. Diabel died. I didn't know the dude personally myself, but he did what he could to lead us here and came up with a good strategy – a strategy he should have stuck to, but that's neither here or there. Needless to say, I can understand why you're upset." I paused for a moment, then continued. "But saying everyone should turn against beta testers is not a good idea. Sure, the information about that last boss pattern may have been off, but we managed to defeat the boss because of at least one beta tester – and I say 'at least' because I'm pretty sure quite a few of you are beta testers on the low." I then allowed my level to show for everyone to see. As people stared, murmuring amongst themselves, I continued. "And it was because of beta testers that I was able to be prepared for this floor's boss. Point is, we got 99 floors to go. We don't need this division amongst the people. We need to band together to clear this game, not go on some silly witch hunt."

I turned away, pausing to let Agil translate those last words. "If you guys want ostracize our best chance at clearing this game, then I want nothing to do with y'all cats." I looked up at Agil. "Let's go."

The two of us began to leave. As we did so, my friend's list popped up. It started to shrink one by one until there were two left. One of them was Agil. The other one? I wasn't sure who it belonged to. That was, until I heard a voice behind us and some footsteps. I looked to my left to see someone who to my left side. The two of us shared a look. I nodded at him, and he nodded at me. The three of us then made our exit.


	5. Chapter 5

"So, this Kirito," Matthew began. "He was the guy that eventually freed everyone from SAO, right?"

"Yeah," I said with a nod.

"So, you know him?"

"I do. I didn't know much about him at that time since he was going through a loner phase. Add to the fact that people were on that 'Screw Beta Testers' tip, he laid low for a while, only popping up when a boss needed to be cleared… for the most part. It was a hassle just go get the man to stay around for a meal."

"Were you two part of the same guild?"

"We were, but not until way later down the line. The guild that we were a part of wasn't established yet, and we both were recruited months afterwards. However, we did have something in common early on. The two of us became what was known as Clearers."

88888888888

After that boss fight, the three of us travelled to the second floor. It was quite different from the first floor. It was very mountainous area with the main city – Urbus – being in this giant crater. It was also rather cold. First thing we did was hit up a shop so I could get a few sewing kits. I then made a coat out of wolf fur.

"[Man, I'm so glad that PETA doesn't exist in this game,]" I said as I took a swig from my mug.

"[I still can't believe you friended a whole bunch of people without even looking at the names,]" Lancer said with a scoff.

Lancer was one of the people Agil and I partied up with. He was shorter than me by a few inches. Without his helmet on, he didn't look like a warrior. His dark brown hair was short and trimmed and he wore a pair of glasses. It turns out that the reason he was in the game was because he was a writer for an independent gaming magazine called Zero One Gaming (the name was inspired by the Binary Code), and was playing the game for the sake of writing a review on it.

"[I'm sorry. I was just focused on getting ready for the boss fight.]" I smiled. "[I'm just glad that you stuck around.]"

"[Ah, you were right.]" Lancer shrugged. "[We can't beat this game by turning on one another. I just hope enough of us can unite so we take down the boss.]"

"[Easier said than done]," Agil said. "[The only thing we can do is grind until we get to the point we can fight the boss. The quicker we beat this game, the quicker we can get back to our loved…]." He trailed off as he looked at me. I frowned slightly. "[Sorry.]"

"[What?]" Lancer asked as he tilted his head in confusion.

"[Don't worry about it,]" I said with a dismissive wave of my hand. "[Some people are just in different positions than others in the real world.]"

Lancer looked at me for a few seconds. He then raised his eyebrows briefly. "[Well, all work and no play don't sound too good."] He smiled. "[After all, there are sights to see and women to court.]"

I looked at him, mouth ajar in surprise. "…Bruh…"

At the time, it was a bit astonishing that, despite the fact that we were trapped in a game of death, there were people who still thought about things like that. I haven't thought about the views since the first day of the game, and I sure didn't think about trying to get with a girl.

At least, not at the time.

We spent the next few training and upgrading our weapons and armor. Lancer, true to his name, used a lance as his primary weapon. Quests were… well, not easy, but a little less tedious since it was the three of us. We fought new creatures, such as fling creatures. We even took down a dragon. Granted, the dragon was a lot smaller than one would expect a dragon to be, but still.

Once we reached the point that the gains were becoming minimal, we hit up the NPC smith and tailor to repair our gear. After that, we went to the tavern for dinner.

"[Okay, we're going to find this boss room]," I said, smile on my face. "[We're going to scout it. We're going to recruit some folks, and then we're going to wipe this floor-]" I stopped in midsentence when I saw a notice of a message in my inbox. Lancer and Agil got the same notice as well. I opened up my inbox and read the message. I then sighed. "[Scratch that. Some people already cleared the boss room]."

"[Well, that's fortunate… I guess]," Agil replied somewhat dejectedly.

"[Why are you two down about it]?" Lancer asked with a look of confusion on his face.

"[Boss money]," Agil and I replied in unison.

With my plan for tomorrow dashed, I decided to turn in early. The next morning, I was awakened by a knock on the door. I groaned as I sat up. I sat there for a few moment, slowly opening and closing my mouth before I cracked my neck. After some moments, there was more knocking at the door.

"I'm coming!" I yelled out. I moved off of the bed slowly before I looked out of the window. The sun was barely making an appearance from behind the mount. Sighing, I walked up to the door slowly. "Someone better be dying."

I opened the door before to see Lancer looking at me with a smile on his face.

"[Ohayo]!" he greeted. He then raised his eyebrows as he looked at the wolf skin hat on my head. "[…You really are running with the whole wolf theme, huh?]"

"[I like to stay warm at night. Sue me]."

He chuckled at that. "[Sorry for waking you, Chalquin. But, Agil wanted me to come get you so we can set out for the boss room]."

I tilted my head.

"[Why? The boss is dead. Shouldn't we be heading up to the next floor]?"

"[A beta tester and knowledge broker named Argo met with Agil earlier today. Apparently, someone is planning a meeting for those bent on clearing the bosses in that same room]."

"[Because that went so well the last time]," I said in a deadpan tone. "[Is Agil sure about this]?"

"[You trust him, don't you?]"

I looked at him. I then grimaced slightly as I nodded. I then held up my finger, telling him to give me a minute before I closed the door.

After I got my gear equipped, I went down to the bottom floor with Lancer. Once we met Agil, we grabbed our food to go, eating it along the way as we used a map to get to the boss's lair. The path was pretty hilly, as expected a place in the mountainous area. Once we reached the boss room, there were already several people there. I scanned the room to see a familiar pair speaking with this guy who was in samurai armor.

"[Hey]!" I called out before I ran up to them. The swordsman in black looked towards me. He then reached for his sword. I stopped a few feet short of him before I brought my hands up. "[Relax! I don't want your head! Just saying hi since I haven't you two since the first floor]!" He kept his eyes on me, hand still gripped on the sword. "[Look, I don't care about that Beta Tester or Beater nonsense. If it wasn't for you, we'd probably still be on the first floor. Alright]?" He continued to look at me for some seconds. Then, as Agil and Lancer walked up to me, he looked at them.

"[He's with me]," Agil said. Finally, the boy relaxed as he put away his sword. He then looked towards me.

"[Sorry]," he said, giving a sheepish smile.

"[No worries]," I said with a smile. "[I know how it is]." Really, how could I blame him? I held my hand to my chest. "[I'm Chalquin]." I signaled to the other two. "[You already know Agil. And this is Lancer]."

"[I'm Kirito]," the swordsman replied with a slight smile.

"[I'm Asuna]," the girl said. She bowed. "[Pleased to meet you all]."

"[And I'm Klein, head of the] Fuurinkazen [Guild]," the man said. I tilted my head. "[Well, we're not an official guild yet, since we haven't cleared the third floor. But my friends and I decided to form on up. I decided to go on their behalf since a lot of them were still tired from last night, beating the boss and all]."

"[That was you guys]?" Lancer asked, eyes raised.

"[Well, not just my guild]." Klein signaled to Asuna and Kirito. "[These two put on a show, but it was finished off by Heathcliff]."

"…Heathcliff?" I said.

"[That would be me!]" a voice called out.

The whole crowd turned to see a man in full red armor, shield and everything. He walked into the middle of the room. He had this large white shield that was in a shape that reminiscent of the Christian cross. That was accentuated by the red Christian cross that adorned it. He was tall, muscular, and his face practically looked chiseled. His whole look sort of reminded me of Captain America.

After looking around the room, then at the entrance, he spoke. Agil decided to translate for me. While my Japanese has gotten good enough to carry a conversation with someone, Heathcliff was… well… he was quite the speaker, and used words that I haven't learned in Japanese.

"[Thank you all for joining me this morning,]" Heathcliff announced. "[I am Heathcliff. I was part of the party that took down Asterius the Taurus King. However, while we were victorious, I look around the room and see several faces that weren't there]." The crowds started to murmur. I looked straight at him, not liking what I thought he was implying. However, he continued to speak. "[Please don't take it the wrong way. I'm sure that had you all been made known that there was going to be a raid on the boss, most, if not all of us, would have been there. But therein lies the problem. Lack of communication, and lack of trust, due in no small part to the ostracizing and demonization of Beta Testers. During this last boss battle, players, beta testers or otherwise, were able to unite and fight as one cohesive unit.

"[Ladies and gentlemen, we can't hope to clear the game without coming together. We can't clear this game when we have to worry about whether or not we can trust the man or woman next to us. So, I call you here to give a proposal. No longer will we be 'beaters and non-beaters'. We become a force dedicated to beating this game floor by floor. We become stronger. We become focused. We become bent on clearing every level. As a matter of fact, from this day on, we become Clearers]!"

The crowd cheered. They then started to chant "Clearers!" over and over again. During this, I looked at Heathcliff, who smiled at the reaction. I had to admit, the man was charismatic. He was actually able to get everyone on the same page. The witch hunt for "beaters" didn't exactly die that day, but it was put on the backburner at the very least. And that was a good a thing.

So why was I getting some bad vibes from the man?

On the third floor, I sat at a table in a restaurant with Agil, Lancer, Asuna, Kirito, and Klein. As we waited for our food, we sat there in silence.

"…So, that was quite the speech he put on," Agil said.

"Yeah," I said with a nod. "Very presidential… or Prime Minister-ish your case."

"[So, we're going to be fighting side by side]," Lancer said. "[Hopefully, it'd be a lot less bickering than before]."

"[Just as long as we don't have another Kibaou on our hands, right Kirito]?" Klein said as he nudged Kirito with an elbow. The swordsman in black kept quiet. I watched him for a bit, then looked away when the food came.

"Clearers," I said to myself.

It dawned on me how much weight that title had. We were going to be responsible for destroying every boss from here on out. We weren't just working to beat the game – we were working to free everyone who was trapped in it. And that was a bit scary.

"Am I up for it?" I whispered to myself.

Honestly, did I have a choice?


	6. Chapter 6

"So, you became a Clearer," Matthew stated after taking down some notes. "…So, basically, you became a soldier."

"…I… guess," I replied. I shrugged. "Like I said before, I didn't want my life to be totally in the hands of the other players."

"And how was being a Clearer?"

"I had my good days, I had my bad days. The amount of people dying dropped considerably, and people worked hard to clear the game. However, guilds became a bit of a gift and a curse. On one hand, there were groups dedicated to the fight for the most part. On the other hand, there were some unneeded rivalries. Some of the minor ones resulted in squabbles over quests, 'specially when the quests rewarded players with either rare loot or fat stacks of Cor. But then there were guilds that wanted to be the top gunners, so to speak, and that led to people being stupid. One of the guilds – the Aincrad Liberation Squad – left the front lines after the front line cleared the 25th floor. But that's because they lost a lot of people after rushing the boss headfirst without even verifying the information they received.

"So, Heathcliff started the Knights of The Blood, making Asuna second in command. From then on, they became the leading group. Things became more organized, and the bosses were scouted before a full-on raid happened."

"And you still weren't a part of that guild, right?"

"I wasn't," I said. "I held off on the idea at first. I already friended quite all of the people I trusted. Well, everyone except for Kirito, who seemed rather skittish about the idea for a reason I didn't know about at the time. Whenever I was needed on the front lines, I was there. So, I saw no reason to join a guild. But, I did eventually join The Knights of The Blood, even if it was supposed to be temporary."

"And throughout it all, what was your mindset?"

"…My mindset?" I asked. I thought about it for a moment. "Well, that's a long story in and of itself. Little did I know at the time, I was approaching an existential crisis of sorts."

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During my time as a clearer, I really started to pay attention to my build. On Kirito's advice, I went back to the second floor and completed a quest to turn my Unarmed skill into the much more advanced Martial Arts skill. From there, after reading up on some updated information (thank you Argo), I worked on different skills until I found my niche.

I was basically as close to a ninja as I could possibly be. I figured out the right compositions to allow me to do things that I didn't know was possible. I knew how to apply poisons and potions to my weapons (which I was now able to throw) and even food if I needed to, thanks to my cooking skills. I got so good at throwing weapons that I was able to pick up another skill - Shurikenjutsu. I became extremely good at Hiding and Searching. With my speed, I was often used as support for the main attackers during boss raids.

That was my forte – with the exception of a couple of skills, I didn't focus on maxing out my abilities. I made sure that all of my skills so I can be well-rounded. There was a bit of a downside to it. I had to work extra harder to take down my opponents since I didn't really have a skill to overwhelm somebody with, something I came to realize during PvP duels. I also had to dedicate a good chunk of my inventory to different weapons. At that point, I made it a point to keep two swords, two grappling hooks, five daggers, and twenty shuriken. As such, had to be careful about how I utilized the rest of my inventory space.

Well, as I said, when I joined the Knights of Blood, it was supposed to be temporary.

It started when Kirito decided to take it upon himself to answer a plea from one non-clearer player to bring down Titan's Hand – a guild that ambushed and killed other players for whatever they had on them. I wanted to go with him, but he insisted that I stayed behind on the frontlines. After his success in taking down Titan's Hand and capturing imprisoning their leader, more people came to the Clearers for help. Heathcliff saw it as a good thing, believing that it raised the morale of the populace.

One day, I was contacted by Heathclifff via Lancer. He wanted to see the two of us. So, we made our way over to one of the restaurants that served as the makeshift HQ for The Knights of The Blood. As we walked through the fields, Lancer adjusted his armor.

"You know, I've been wearing this armor for six days now, and it still feels uncomfortable," he said.

"Well, you wanted to be a tank," I said. "So, guess what? You have to wearing freakin' heavy armor lined with the skin of a high-leveled dragon."

"I'm so sorry I'm not as fast as you," he replied as he rolled his eyes. "Though I'm pretty sure I can take a lot more damage than you can."

"Well, I wanted to be what passes ninja around these parts." I then raised my eyebrows briefly. "So, I have to dodge."

We became quiet for a bit. Lancer then looked at me. I saw him looking at me from my peripheral, but didn't say anything. I decided to just wait until he decided he wanted to say what was on his mind. "Ah, Chalquin… may I ask you a question?" he finally said.

"Sure," I said.

"How come you don't like talking about your… well, I guess past isn't exactly the best word to use but… uh…?"

"I think you're trying to ask me why I don't like talking about what my life was like before I became trapped in SAO." I turned my head towards him. "That is what you're asking right?"

"Well, yeah. I remember when we had that conversation in Urbus, and Agil trailed off when he starting talking about loved ones. Ever since then, I wanted to know what your situation was like." He paused. "You don't have dead parents or anything, do you?"

"…No." I then looked up towards the sky. "At least, not as far as I know. I haven't seen them since the last time they visited."

"Visited?"

I stopped in my tracks and looked at him for some seconds.

The thing is, I'm not a loner. I mean, don't get me wrong, I could have my days where I just want me, myself, and I as company, but I valued a good friendship. Lancer had my back since the first floor. I guess he earned the right to know the truth.

"Visited," I repeated. "…I'm in prison right now. Or perhaps in a hospital at the moment. But, either way, I'm serving time."

He looked at me for a several seconds. He then started to snicker. His snickering turned into chuckling, then full on laughter. As he bent over, holding his stomach, I looked left and right before looking back at him. He straightened himself and looked at me, smile still on his face. His smile faded when he realized I was serious.

"Oh man, you're serious!" he said. "I'm sorry. I thought you were joking around with me. Wait, how did -?" 

"Long story short, the staff of the prison I'm locked up in thought VR could help rehabilitate inmates, so they wrote Kayaba about it, they got a NerveGear that was pre-loaded with the game, and I was the 'lucky' first."

"…Huh…" He then tilted his head. "What were you in for?"

"Aiding and abetting in drug trafficking," I said. "…Look, I gave someone a ride in my car. That someone was… well, have you ever knew someone you low key didn't like because he gave you a bad vibe, but you kept it to yourself because that person is a friend of one of your friends?"

"…Yes. That's the reason I'm quiet when Kuradeel is around."

"…You don't like Kuradeel? I mean, I can't say I know him well, but he doesn't seem too bad."

"Look, I understand he's one of Heathcliff's right hand men, but he gives me the creeps. Like, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he liked to break into women's houses and watch them sleep."

I opened my mouth to retort, but decided to just leave the subject alone. Kuradeel wasn't around to defend himself and I didn't know enough about him to even try to do so myself.

"…Anyway… when I was giving him a ride, he told me to pull over into this gas station. When I did, he comes out the car with his backpack, and then I realized that he was selling some drugs. I'm not talking marijuana. It was some cheap meth. Well, turns out the guy he was selling to wanted to short him on the cash. Things started getting hectic. So I came out the car to try and calm everything down. One of buyers pulled out a knife and…" I gestured to my facial scar with my right hand. "And that's when the cops came. I was arrested. I was expelled from school and, by extension, kicked off the football…" I paused for a moment. "…American football team. After I was taken to the hospital to be treated for the cut, I was taken in and processed. And because my family couldn't exactly afford the best defense attorney… or even a middle of the road one, we got a public defender. I mean, she wasn't bad. But the best she could do was get my sentence down to five years."

"But you didn't know," Lancer commented incredulously. He shook his head. "That's not fair!"

"Yeah, well, proving that was next to impossible. The only people who were present at the crime, other than myself, was the dealer and the buyers. And, wouldn't you know it, none of them felt like testifying on my behalf."

"Man, that sucks," Lancer said. "I'm… I'm sorry."

I shrugged. "It is what it is."

We continued to walk. After some seconds, Lancer spoke again.

"You know, you're a better guy than I am," he stated. He then laughed. "In all honesty, had I been in your position, I'd probably just enjoy the freedom as much as possible before the Clearers beat the game."

I didn't think much of what he said at that moment. I merely laughed it off. But, little did I know at the time, those words were planted in my head like a seed, and they were going to be cultivated.

We met Heathcliff at the restaurant, which was rather roomy. We sat across from him at the table.

"Thank you for joining me today," Heathcliff said with a smile.

"What's the deal, Heathcliff?" I asked, wanting to bypass the pleasantries. "I don't mean to be rude, but you're not usually one for face-to-face."

"That is true," he acknowledged. "However, there is a matter of concern that leads me to believe that your skillset would be needed."

"My skillset?" I tilted my head.

"Yes. You see, there is a member of the Knights of Blood who has been missing from the frontlines for a while. She is still alive, as her name is still on the guild's roster list. The thing is, she went out to help a a non-combative player with a matter, and I'm starting to get a bad feeling about it all. As such, I'd like for you to track her down."

"…Okay, I have a few questions," I said. "Well, one actually. If she's part of the guild, why don't you have someone IN the guild track her? I mean, I'm good at finding people, but I think I'm a bit overqualified."

"And humble," Lancer added in a deadpan tone, prompting me to give him the side-eye.

"There are only two people in the clan I'd give that responsibility to… under most circumstances. One of them – Asuna – is busy working with Kirito on a murder investigation."

 _So now Kirito wants to team up with folks,_ I grumbled internally.

"The other is Kuradeel,"Heathcliff continued. "Unfortunately, it's been brought to my attention that the person in question is not fond of him, saying that he gives her… stalker vibes."

"Stalker vibes?"

"…Well, she specifically said that he seems like the type of person who'd break into women's homes to watch them sleep at night."

I didn't even have to turn my head. I practically felt the side-eyed looked from Lancer. I closed my eyes and took in my breath, deciding to nip my impending laughter in the bud. After letting loose a breath, I still had one reservation.

"Okay, but I still think it would be easier to have a guild member…" I stopped talking when I saw a box open up in front of my face.

Said box was a guild invitation.

"…No…" I slowly stood up. "Nonononono! No!" I pointed at Heathcliff. "I already told you the first time around, I don't want to join a guild!" I lowered my hand. As he did so, Heathcliff went through his items before he tapped three slots. A piece of parchment, a quill, and an inkwell appeared in front of him. "Look, I got nothing against the KoB. I respect the group, really. But I'm already fighting enough as is. I'm here when you need me." During this, he proceeded to write something down on the piece of parchment. "Look, I can ask around but…" He then slid the piece of paper towards me.

"I'm not asking you to become a permanent member," Heathcliff said quietly. "I'm only asking you to join temporarily until she is found, since, as you say, it'd be easier for a guild member to find her. Your skills would only be needed if something is afoot." He signaled towards the piece of paper. "I believe what I written down would be more than enough to compensate you and, assuming he's going to help you, Lancer, provided that you agree to temporary membership and undertake this task. I'll even pay you two half up front."

Lancer picked up the piece of paper and held it in front of our faces. We both looked at the amount of Cor that was listed. We looked at each other. We looked back at the paper. I then slowly raised my right hand and hit the accept icon with my finger.

"So, when do you need us to begin?"

I went to the nearest inn after that. I went about going through my inventory, including my Cor – which was now sitting at a hefty 7,000,000. As I went through my items and checked my stats, however, I started to think of what Lancer said earlier.

" _You know, you're better guy than I am. In all honesty, had I been in your position, I'd probably just enjoy the freedom as much as possible before the Clearers beat the game."_

I stopped in my movements as those words echoed in my head.

 _Why am I fighting?_

I thought about that question for some seconds. I then scoffed and brushed it aside. I was doing it because it was the right thing to do.

…Right?


	7. Chapter 7

I heard the sound of a wrapper being torn. I turned towards Nancy, seeing her open up a protein bar. After pulling it out of the wrapper, she held the bar out to me. Slowly, I raised my hands slowly to take the bar from her. I would have been a bit quicker in my movements, but I didn't want to give the guards any reason to bust in. I wasn't dangerous. At least, I didn't think I was. However, I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't be wary of me if I was in their position.

Once I took the bar from Nancy, I nodded thankfully before I munched down on it. Once I was done, I reached for my glass of water and took a sip.

"Okay, I have to ask – what made you struggle with your reason behind fighting?" Matthew questioned. He tilted his head. "I mean, you're trapped in a game. Don't you want to get out?"

"I didn't understand it at first, so I just ignored it for a bit," I replied. "But, slowly and surely, my feelings about Aincrad… about SAO… started to change. Of course, I didn't notice it at the since there were bigger fish to fry."

88888888888

The player I was sent to find was a player named Athena. I wasn't an expert on Greek Mythology, but I knew enough to know about the "major players" within it. Athena was one of the deities of War, and as well as The Goddess of Wisdom and Craft. It was par the course for a lot of the players, who mostly named themselves after legendary warriors if they weren't using names that sounded vaguely medieval.

According to the tracker, she was at one of the inns on the 50th floor, not too far away from Agil's shop. Once we arrived at the door, I raised my hand and knocked on it. I heard some commotion inside. Lancer and I looked at each other for a moment before the door opened. I turned to see girl in front of me. My mouth then went ajar.

The woman, who didn't look much older than I am, if at all, was pretty tall – about my height, it seemed like. Her hair was of decent length as the ends of it were touching her shoulders. Her eyes were this intense color of green that reminded me of dark jade stones. She was dressed in a white shirt and black shorts. I wanted to say something, anything. But, I just couldn't. Only one thought came to mind.

 _She's pretty._

"…Can I help you two with something?" she asked in a somewhat annoyed tone.

"…Aaaaaah…" I trailed off as I tried to find my words, which all of a sudden went MIA. Lancer stepped forward.

"Hello, young lady," he started, speaking in a deeper-than-normal tone. "My name is Lancer. And this is my subordinate, Chalquin." I closed my mouth and gave him the side-eye. "We're here to talk to you. Perhaps we can do so over a candlelight dinner." He raised his eyes suggestively.

"…Please leave," she said before she moved to close the door.

"Wait!" I said, finally grabbing a hold of my vocabulary again. She stopped and looked at me. "Please forgive my _partner_. He tends to act a little funny in the head whenever he's not properly nourished… or hydrated. But, yes, my name is Chalquin. The reason why the two of us are here is because Heathcliff wanted to see if you were okay."

She narrowed her eyes. "…Why would Heathcliff send you two?"

"What do you mean… ooooh, excuse me." I cleared my throat and allowed my name, status bar, and icon show. She looked above my head for a few moments before her expression softened. She looked back at me.

"So you're a fellow Knight of The Blood," she said. "You must be new."

"Yeah, I was just recruited today," I said. "Um… listen, Heathcliff is worried about you. He wanted to make sure you're okay."

"So he sends a new member and his spear-chucking sidekick," Athena replied with a scoff. "I'm glad I'm worth his time."

"It was either me or Kuradeel," I replied. "And word is you don't like Kuradeel."

"…" She glared at me. She then rolled her eyes. "Look, I just needed some time away from the frontlines and I figured that after I helped another player, it wouldn't hurt to take a week or three off. So, just tell Heathcliff I'll be back in a week. Okay?"

"…Okay," I said with a nod. "I'm sorry for the convenience." She looked at me for a few moments. She then frowned.

"No, don't apologize. You're only doing what was asked of you. Just… tell Heathcliff I said sorry for causing everyone to worry. You two have a good night."

"Likewise."

With that, she closed the door.

"Well, that was simple," Lancer said with a brief raise of his eyebrows. "What's next?" 

I brought my index finger up to lips, signaling to him to be quiet. I then beckoned him to follow me out.

Once we were outside of the inn, we crossed the street to one of the residential buildings. Once inside, I led Lancer upstairs.

"What's the deal?" he asked. Once we arrived on second floor, I walked down the hallway, checking to see if any of the rooms for sell. I did by lightly touching the door. Each time I did so, a small message box would show up, indicating whether the dwelling was owned or not. I checked five doors until I found one dwelling that was vacant. I looked at the price. It was 500,000 Cor.

"So, basically, you had me go quiet because you wanted to go home shopping," Lancer stated dryly as he gave me a look. "Makes sense."

"No," I said. I tapped the window, accepting to pay the price for the home before I walked in. "Granted, since I help Agil out at the shop, I was planning on buying a place on 50th Floor anyway." I walked up to the window and looked through it. I then stepped aside and pointed at the window. "This is the reason why I'm here."

Lancer walked up to the window and leaned over to look at it. "…We're on a stakeout?" He looked over his shoulder at me. I nodded. "Why?" 

"Because I think something is up," I said simply. I walked over to the table that in the middle of the main area before grabbing the two chairs. I dragged the chairs over to the window before sliding one towards Lancer. I took a seat on mine before used the interface to turn off the lights.

"What makes you think that?" As he said this, Lancer took his seat.

"While Athena and I were talking, I noticed a couple of people moving behind her. I guess they were trying to hide. Either my Seeking stat is way higher than there's or they just suck at hiding. Add to the commotion we heard, and well…"

"I just hope you're right. Last thing I want to be is a stalker."

We waited as we watched the front of the inn. As we waited, we passed the time with some conversation. It was mostly about the different adventures we had, as well as quite a few fun and humorous situations we found ourselves, like the one time he unwittingly tried to score a date with an NPC, or when I found my first S-Class cooking ingredient and wasted it by trying to cook it with my subpar cooking skills. During this, a part of me wondered how we could have fun times while being trapped in a death game.

And then, THAT question came up again.

 _Why am I fighting?_

Fortunately, before I could dwell on that topic, that was when we saw her. She was dressed in her Knight of The Blood attire, which looked like a light armor version of the heavy gear other KoB would wear. However, she was also followed by five people who wore hooded cloaks. I leaned into the window a little more as I focused on her face. The expression she had was a mixture of anger and disgust.

"She doesn't look happy," I said. I stood up.

"What are we going to do?" Lancer asked. I looked at Lancer, then eyed his gear.

"Um, do you have anything light you can wear?"

"Not really."

I sighed. "Alright, I need you to do me a favor. I need you to hang back for about 40 minutes. Then I need you to come find me."

"What are you going to do?" he asked.

"I'm going to follow them."

"Are you sure?" he asked. "Because that's at least five against one."

"I'm sure," I said. "Just lock up when you leave, will you?"

"Alright. Be careful."

I nodded before I watched the group walk towards a certain direction. I then opened the window and hopped out of it. I braced myself as I landed both feet and one hand. I stood up slowly before I opened up the menu and pulled up the member list. Once I found her name, I tapped it to track her. After that, I blinked once. I felt my eyes tingle a bit as my vision changed. Everything seemed a bit darker, but Athena's footprints were as bright as day. After nodding to myself, I started to follow the footsteps slowly.

I was led out of the city and through a forest. I kept my head on the swivel, hoping to avoid a creature attack and give away my position. All the while, I was wondering what was going on. A lot of things came to mind. Was she being blackmailed? Did she end up in a deal that she regretted? Or perhaps there was someone she wanted dead.

As I was going to find out, all of those scenarios were right, in a way.

After a while, the footsteps led me to a lakeside beach. There were some large rocks on the beach – large enough for me to hide behind. I hid behind a tree as I looked off towards the group. I watched them, the five hooded figures moved until they surrounded Athena. I tried to listen in on them, but my Hearing wasn't exactly the best, or even mediocre. So, slowly, I moved from the tree towards one of the larger rocks. Once I reached one of them, I finally was able to use my Hearing to actually pick up what they were saying.

"…be used to be naked in front of men," one of them said.

"You guys are pigs!" Athena spat out venomously. I furrowed up my eyebrows as I wondered what was going on. Against my better judgement, I slowly turn my body around and raised my head above the rock.

"Now, now, no need to be insulting," one of the hooded figures said in a smug tone. He stepped forward and held up a teal-green crystal. I narrowed my eyes. I knew it was – it was a recording crystal. Recording Crystals had multiple functions. It allowed you to take pictures as well as record video. "After all, we have a deal – you let us play with you for a whole night, and this recording of that little beast tamer bathing in the lake is yours. You can back out if you want. But if you do, then we'll make copies of it and sell the copies to anyone willing to buy."

"…Oh gosh…" I whispered to myself.

"Now, the sooner you cooperate, the sooner we can get this party started," another one said with a laugh. His tone then changed to an authoritative one. "Strip!"

Reluctantly, Athena moved her hand to pull her up her a menu. Some seconds later, her armor disappeared, leaving her in nothing but her underwear. A lot to my shame, I took some seconds to take in her figure. Really, I was caught off guard by the sight of her in such revealing attire. Fortunately, I snapped back to reality, just in time to notice the men change into their underwear. The only thing they had on was their boxers and masks, the latter concealing their identities.

"Let's just get this over with!" Athena growled. That was when one of the men walked up behind her with a throwing pick in his hand.

"Yeah, not quite yet," he said. "Thing is, you're a Knight of The Blood, so your levels probably high enough for you take us all on. So…" He stabbed the pick into her back. My eyebrows rose as I saw the Paralysis symbol above her head. She fell backward onto the ground. "…consider that a little something to put you in the mood."

I had enough.

I stared intently at the man who had the crystal in his hand. After that, I quickly turned and put my back against the rock. I quickly went through my menu and looked up Lancer's name. After tapping it, I sent a message to him, typing up a message quicker than I have ever typed one up since I got into the game.

 _Get here now! A whole bunch of guys are about to have sex with her against her will!_

With that done, I went through my gear before I equipped my sword and my batch of special throwing picks. After that, I stood up and turned around.

"Oh hi!" I yelled out. All of them turned towards me as I walked up to them nonchalantly. As I did so, I looked around at all of them, taking note of their position.

"Who the hell are you?!" one of them demanded.

"I'm Chalquin," I said. "I'm here to take both that video and Athena off of your hands."

"…Do you honestly think that you'd be able to take us all on?" another one of them said with a laugh. I watched as they began to equip their weapons. "We won't even have to equip armor to handle you. Leave now, and we'll forgive you for interrupting our fun time!"

"Fun time, you say?" I leaned to my right to see Athena, who looked as if she was struggling to stand up. I then looked back towards the speaker. "She doesn't look like she's having fun." At that, I slowly reached for my sword before I pulled it out of its sheath. "It actually looks like she's here against her will."

"So what are you, a lawman now?" the crystal-bearer replied in a snarky tone. "Why don't you just walk away before we kill you for stalking us like a criminal?"

Criminal.

That word echoed in my head several times. I blinked once before I felt my eyes go dead. I put on a smile as I bowed my head slowly, keeping my eyes on them.

"…Athena," I called out. "I'll have you standing soon enough. Just give me a little time to disarm this man."

"It's not like I'm in any position to give you a time limit!" she yelled back. "Just do what you need to do!"

I nodded. I then ran forward.

As I stated before, I valued my speed, and for good reason. In the game, there were very few people faster than me. Kirito, Asuna, and (even though I didn't know at the time) Heathcliff were three of them. Granted, they could outpace me easily (especially Asuna), but that was like an SR-71 Blackbird out-racing an F-22 Raptor. And these guys? They might as well have been trying to race that F-22 Raptor in a Volkswagen beetle.

In what seemed like a flash, I appeared in front of the crystal-bearer. With my sword glowing, I swung the blade around. In one quick motion, I lopped off his sword bearing arm right below his shoulder. As he screamed out, I did the same with his left arm. Finally, I took a step back, grabbed the hilt of my sword with my free hand, making sure I was holding the sword with both of my hands. I waited until the sword glowed before I swung it. With one swing, I completely sliced off his legs, leaving him to fall to the ground as nothing but practically a head and a torso.

"You're not going to die," I said as he screamed out, tears running down his eyes. "But you and I are going to talk after this."

I heard footsteps. Without even looking, I ran around the gang-up attempt, stopping next to Athena. Without even looking, I reached into my sleeve and pulled out a red pick. I then threw it downward, hitting her in the stomach with it. The pick remained embedded in her stomach for some seconds before it shattered into white lights. She then quickly stood up.

"I guess I should thank you," she said.

"I figured you'd want in on this, them being your coercers and all," I replied, making sure to keep my eyes straight. "…Please put your armor on."

"I don't think I have time for that," she replied. Rather than equip a sword, she moved into a fighting stance. I took one glance at her. She then glanced at me. I quickly averted my gaze, not wanting to think I was ogling her. "I'll take the two on the left. You take the others."

"Got it," I said. The two of then moved as our attackers converged on us.

I didn't realize how over-leveled Athena and I were for this battle until I was engaged with one of the attacks. Once our swords collided, I leaned forward, trying to press my advantage. Honestly, it was stupid, and had the creeps been around my level, I would have been screwed, with a capital 'S'. However, when the other player went for what would have been a near-fatal blow by stabbing the tip of his sword into my side… well, he might as well have been a mosquito trying to bite the shell of a tortoise. In response, I scoffed before I brought my right hand out, palmed his face, and shoved him backward into the ground – all while still stalemating the swords men I was engaged with.

From there, I lifted my right foot up and sent it into the stomach of the assailant I was engaged with. I backed away as he doubled over. I then stepped forward, wrapped my right arm around his head, and fell backward, sending his head into the ground.

I sat up and shoved the masked man off of me. The assailant I pushed away tried to run in once more. I was about to scramble to my feet until I saw a disembodied masked head go flying across the air before slamming against him head on.

I blinked a couple of times. I then looked to my left to see a body without its head.

"…Bruh…" was all I could say. The body fell backward before it disappeared in red lights. Athena then turned towards the remaining foe. He backed away, dropping his weapon as he did so. Athena stalked towards him with the most evil smile on his face. Had it not been for the fact that she was about to be, for all intents and purposes, gang-raped, I would have felt sorry the guy and intervened before he ended up getting killed. But, given the circumstances, the only thing I did was lament the fact that I didn't have a snack to munch on while I saw what was happening.

"What's the matter?" Athena said in a grimly innocent tone. "Don't you want to know what it's like to be touched by an idol? Don't you want to know what it's like to feel a woman that you've only get to see on a video?" As she said that, she pulled up her menu and equipped what looked like freaking Wolverine claws in her hands. "…Didn't you say you wanted to feel every inch of it going in?"

He started to scream before he turned and ran away. I moved to my feet and reached for one of my picks. But by the time I drew one, he was gone. However, he wasn't going to get away. While I was about to run after him, I heard galloping. Athena and I turned our heads towards the sound, seeing Lancer riding a black horse.

"I'll take this one!" he yelled out as galloped pass us. We watched him disappear into the darkness. We then heard the sound of a blade lunging into a body, followed by a blood-curdling scream.

"Please, no!" a voice pleaded. "No, no! Someone, help me!"

"Don't worry, I'll give you all the help you need… right behind this tree," Lancer replied.

Athena and I just looked into the darkness as we heard the sound of fists hitting flesh and screams of agony.

After some seconds Athena turned towards me.

"Hey…" she began. I didn't turn to look at her, but spoke before she could continue.

"Clothes first, then conversation," I said, feeling my face warm up.

"Oh, right, sorry." After a few seconds her armor was equipped. "Better?"

"Much." I turned to face her. When I noticed that she gave me a look, I cleared my throat. "Sorry. I'm not saying you're u-ugly. I honestly think you're very p-pretty. I just didn't want struggle keeping eye contact with you and make you think I'm a pervert or anything like that." I looked away, feeling my face warm up even more. I felt flustered, and I wasn't quite sure why. It was the second time I was thrown off my game by her. "I'm sorry."

"...Anyway, I guess I should be thanking you," Athena said. "So, thank you."

"You're welcome," I said quietly, slowly bringing my eyes to meet hers. "Um… if you don't mind me asking, how did you end up in this situation?"

"I'll tell you later," she said. She then pointed to the masked man I dismembered, who was trying to get away by using his chin to crawl. "He has something I need."


	8. Chapter 8

"So, essentially, you saved Athena from being sexually assaulted," Matthew said.

"I did," I replied. He took in a breath and closed his eyes briefly. "What's wrong?"

"It's just… I just find it a bit disturbing that even in a death game, people would go around and do something like that."

"I'm not surprised." I scoffed. "People can be real buttholes. No matter what the setting or situation is, buttholes can find a way to be just that. I mean, we…" I lifted up my right hand and gestured between myself, Matthew, and Nancy. "…live in South Florida. Every single time when Hurricane Season is on the horizon, the news stations would not only tell us to stock up on supplies, but also to be on the lookout for price gougers, scammers, and the like."

After that, I watched Matthew as he tapped the notebook repeatedly with the non-writing end of his pen. I knew what he wanted to ask me. It was a question I would have likely asked me had I been in their position.

"So you were smitten with Athena?" he finally said.

"Still am," I replied.

"Even in a death game, you found yourself falling for someone?"

"I guess love finds a way." I raised my eyebrows. "It wasn't something I was planning on. I wasn't even looking for anybody. Every other day or so, I'd see some couples going about their day, enjoying being in each other's company, and I'd just look at them wondering how they could do it. But then I'd realize that I wasn't in the same position they were in."

"What do you mean?" Matthew asked.

"Here's the thing." I brought my index and middle fingers together before touching the tips of them on the table. "I was the only SAO player from outside of Japan. Not only that, I'm incarcerated. I had next to zero hope on an acquittal…" I gestured towards him. "…before I met you. I guess, from my perspective, there was no point in romance. All of the other players live in Japan. They could hop the train to see each other if they wanted to. And yet, I wasn't immune to the love bug."

88888888888

We dealt with the remaining thugs, sending them to Black Iron Prison after we were done interrogating them. The morning after, Lancer, Athena, and I met with Heathcliff and Asuna to brief them on what happened. And what was when I found out exactly how Athena ended up in her predicament.

Athena was out helping a beast tamer. Said beast tamer was part of a guild known as the Aincrad Circus. The reason they called themselves that was because they travelled from floor to floor and put on circus acts for the people for a small fee. Unfortunately, the beast tamer was recorded while she was skinny-dipping in a secluded lake. Once that happened, the group put a ransom out on the circus – either they pay up, or they'd sell recordings of the video. The ransom would have left their Cor amount at zero.

So, Athena went to see what she could do. Turns out, the creeps were also holding someone hostage on another ransom. Had it not been for that, she would have just eliminated them on the spot. Instead, she negotiated with them until they arrived at a deal. Basically put, she was going to be their play thing for a few weeks. In return, the hostage was released up front and the recording was hers at the end of it all. As she went into detail about the stuff that they made her do, included making her play with herself while they all watched, I felt my blood boil.

I'm going to be honest – even to this day, a part of me wish we killed them all.

"You know, you could have just sent one of us a message," Asuna pointed out, look of anger and concern on her face. "What you did was stupid!"

"I know," Athena said as she bowed her head.

"Do you know what could have happened to you had Chalquin and Lancer not been sent to look for you? You were almost raped! You would have likely been killed!"

"Asuna," I interjected. She looked straight at me with a glare, causing me to visibly gulp. "…You're not wrong. And I understand your concern and anger. However… hindsight is 20/20. I believe Athena was thinking more about the well-being of the hostage at the time." I looked over at Athena, who looked over at me. "Athena is very selfless – a lot more selfless than I am. I don't think I'm taking too wild of a guess when I say that she was more focused on getting that hostage out alive, and she was willing to risk it all to do so." Athena's mouth went ajar as her eyes widened slightly. She then looked away, blush on her face. I got a little warm in the face myself – I found the sight of her blushing rather cute.

I then looked back at Asuna. "Isn't getting everyone out alive the reason driving us Clearers?"

Asuna stared at me. Her expression then softened as she tilted her head briefly in acknowledgment. "I suppose you are right." After that, she walked up to her Athena and put her hand on her cheeks. Gently, she turned Athena's head until she was facing her. "Next time, just let us know the next time you're in such a predicament. I don't want you getting hurt, or worse, okay?"

"Yes ma'am," Athena said quietly. Asuna smiled. She then got on her tippy-toes and placed a kiss on Athena's forehead. I smiled slightly at the sight. Really, Asuna could be a bit hard on people at times, but there was never a doubt about how much she cared for everyone else's wellbeing.

No wonder Kirito liked her so much.

"Good," Asuna said. "Now go home. You look like you could use the rest."

"Thank you," Athena replied. She pulled away before she pulled out a crystal. I watched her as she teleported away. I then turned my attention to Lancer, who gave me nudge with his elbow. He gave me a suggestive smile. I rolled my eyes.

"Thank you for helping out in this matter," Heathcliff said, causing us to look at him. "You two have been a great help." He paused. "I know that your membership in The Knights of The Blood was supposed to be temporary, I ask that you two heavily considering becoming members of the guild."

"…" I opened my mouth to decline. However, before I could speak, an image of Athena entered my mind. I closed my mouth, mulled over my words, then spoke. "I'll think about it. I'll let you know after the next boss raid."

"That's all I can ask for," Heathcliff replied with a slight smile. "Now, about the other half of your payment…"

I didn't go straight home, yet. Instead, I hit up the furniture store on a different floor. While my place wasn't exactly small, it wasn't exactly large either. It was basically a large studio apartment with a small kitchen. So, I kept it pretty simple. I got a bed and a nightstand to go along with a black throw rug for one side of the dwelling. For the rest of the space, I bought two sofas and a long coffee table, deciding to use it as both a dining and sitting area.

For the walls… well, I had nothing yet. I decided to keep them bare until I have pictures worth hanging up.

After looking around the room, I nodded in approval. And then I finally went to bed.

Over the next couple of weeks, it was the same old, same old. I grinded, I helped out Agil in the store, and, every now and again, I played Sheriff for the non-Clearers. During those times, I started to think about Athena more and more.

So, one night, as I lay in bed and went through the normal routine – checking gear, items, and money – I received a message from Heathcliff regarding an update on the search for a floor boss. I read it, then closed the message. I was about to continue on with my inventory check before I paused. Instead, I pulled up the guild list and searched for Athena's name. Once I found it, I tapped it, pulling it up. I tapped her name, seeing her profile come up. After looking at the screen for a few moments, I tapped the message icon before beginning to type up the message.

 _Hey. Are you up?_

After sending, I waited about a minute. After that, I was about to continue on with my inventory check until I received a message back.

 _I am. Is everything okay?_

I hit the reply button and took a few moments to think about what I was going to type. I then tapped at the keyboard.

 _Everything is fine. I wanted to know, are you doing anything tomorrow?_

Some seconds later, she responded.

 _I can't say that I do, other than the usual. Why?_

I took in a breath, feeling a lot more nervous than I expected.

 _Well, I wanted to know if it's possible that we could hang out. Just the two of us._

I cringed when I sent that message. I closed my eyes as I prepared for what I believed was going to be a rejection.

And then…

 _Meet me at the Coral Village Teleport Gate at 1:00 in the afternoon. Don't be late._

I smiled to myself. I then closed my menu before finally going to sleep.

The next day, after doing a delivery for Agil and getting some grinding done on the highest unlocked floor at the time, I teleported to Coral.

Coral was a very small town on the 22nd Floor. In all honesty, one could actually call it a retreat hamlet. There were no weapon or armor shops, NPC owned or otherwise. There was a small eatery, a shop for casual clothes, and a shop where one could buy fishing supplies. But, other than that, the only thing the town had was log cabins for sale and a small inn with rooms to rent. Oh, there's also the very large lake that people loved to fish at. People mostly came here to unwind and get away from it all. It was also a decent spot for the noncombatant players to settle in. The ALS, which was now the Aincrad Liberation Front (ALF), saw no reason to be much of a presence there, since they were too focused on wealth and power. As such, the atmosphere was very relaxed.

So, I sat near the gate, checking the time to see how early I was.

12:56

A few seconds after that, the gate glowed. I turned my head to the right to see Athena step out through it. I stood up as I took in her presence. She was dressed in a simple gown, which was jade in color. The bottom of the gown just grazed the grown as she moved, and the sleeves of it were flared. Her black hair was pulled back into a bun, save for a few bangs that hung on both sides of her forehead.

"Hi," she said with a smile. Her smile then faded as she took in my appearance. "Do you not have anything casual to wear?"

I looked down at my clothes, then looked back at her, shaking my head. "To be honest, the only thing I have that isn't combat oriented is my sleeping-wear," I said.

"Well, we're going to change that." She walked past me. As I turned to follow her with my gaze, she casually grabbed my hand and pulled me along. I walked with her, surprised that she was holding my hand. "Honestly, don't you get tired of dressing as if you're always one step away from a battle?"

"…I mean, we kind of are, us being Clearers and all," I reminded. "I just don't want to be caught flatfooted."

She stopped in her tracks before she lifted up the hand that was holding mine. The sleeve slid down, revealing a dagger, which was in a sheath that was strapped to her forearm. I looked at it, then looked at her.

"I'm starting to think you're more of a ninja than I am," I said with a slight smile.

"Not a ninja, just a woman with a talent for Hiding," she said before we continued our walk.

Once we visited the store, she took it upon herself to pick out the outfits for. I found that curious, but didn't say anything. She even took care of the costs, saying that she was doing as a token of appreciation for helping her out.

After that, we took a seat next to the lake. I had to admit, it felt more relaxing being dressed in a pair of grey knee length shorts, a white short sleeved shirt, and simple grey shoes.

"There," Athena said as she smirked at me. "You no longer look like you're all about the battle."

"I do feel a bit more relaxed," I conceded as I look down at my clothes. "Thank you."

"It's the least I could do." Athena looked out towards the lake. "Had it not been for you or Lancer, I probably would have been scarred for life." We went quiet for a bit as we looked out towards the lake. She then turned her head towards me and spoke in plain English. "You're not from Japan, are you?"

I smiled slightly. "That obvious?" I asked.

"Yes." She leaned over and nudged my shoulder with hers. "People like you are a rarity there." She then tilted her head. "How did you end playing this game, though? I thought it was only available in Japan."

"It's a long story." I frowned. "…It was supposed to be a reward for good behavior in my cell…" I trailed off, realizing that I was about to spill the beans. "…block…" And yet, I still continued to spill.

Athena raised an eyebrow. "…So you're a criminal?" she asked. I took in a deep breath as I tried to keep the dead-eyed look off of my face. "I'm not going to shun you if that's the case. I have no room to judge."

"No, I'm not a criminal," I said, doing everything I could to keep the annoyance out of my tone.

"But you're incarcerated," Athena said with a tone of confusion.

"I didn't do what I was charged for." I paused. "Well, at least, I didn't do so intentionally." From there, I explained to her the circumstances behind my incarceration, how I was lucky to only be imprisoned for an Aiding & Abetting charge, and how I ended up in SAO in the first place.

After that, she looked at me for several seconds, mouth ajar. She then closed her mouth and frowned. "I'm sorry, Chalquin."

"Don't be," I said. I frowned slightly. "It is what it is at this point."

We remained quiet for several moments. And then…

"…Can I let you in on something?" Athena asked. I raised my eyebrows as I looked at her. I watched as she averted her gaze. "Do you remember the night that… you know?"

"I won't be forgetting that night any time soon," I said. As the wind blew, I raised my right hand and tucked two of my dreads behind my right ear. I then furrowed my eyebrows and tilted my head. "Does this have anything to do with that comment one of them made? About, you know, being used to being naked in front of men?"

"Yes," Athena said. "To be honest, I'm sort of famous in Japan. … I'm a Gravure and AV Idol."

"…I don't know what any of that means."

She looked at me, eyes somewhat wide. Then a look of realization came across her face. "Oh, right. I'm sorry, I forgot that you're not native to Japan. In Japan, Idols are pretty much manufactured stars used in different types of media. In my case… well, Gravure Idols are very similar to what you would call Pinup Girls in America."

"…Okay, that's not bad," I said. "And AV?"

"…AV stands for Adult Video."

I looked at her for several seconds. Over that time, the meaning of those words sunk.

"…You're a porn star?" I said, eyes raised in surprise.

"No," she said with a shake of her head. "Granted, a lot of AV Idols are. But, I never had sex on camera. I just did a lot of nude pictures in different settings. Granted, I was doing a lot of suggestive posing in them, but still… well, I guess technically, since my photos were used to arouse the viewer, it is. But, like I said, I never did any sex scenes."

"And I'm guessing those guys are fans of your work." I huffed out a breath.

"…You don't think any less of me, do you?"

"No," I replied. "I'm just… a bit surprised, that's all." I frowned. "And it still doesn't change the fact that what happened to you was pretty messed up, to say the least."

She looked at me for some seconds. She then raised her eyebrows.

"How are old you?" she asked.

"I'm…" I paused and thought about it. And then I became a bit depressed. "I'm 16." I was fifteen when I entered the game. According to the calendar, it was September 2023. It was nearing a year since the game began, and I didn't even celebrate my birthday. By the time I remembered it, it was already five minutes until midnight. "You?"

"I turned 19 a few months ago," she replied. "…Are you spoken for?"

"No," I said with a shake of my head. "You?"

"No. To be honest, I wasn't exactly looking for romance. But, sometimes it comes looking for you, you know?" As she said that last part, she slowly leaned against me. I was a bit surprised by it, and I felt my face warm up again. She then rested her head on my shoulder.

"Yeah," I said slowly. Not knowing what else to do, I rested my head against hers. After a moment, I allowed myself to relax. At that moment, it felt right.

The rest of the day, we took a stroll through the forest before going into town for dinner. All the while, we opened up to each other about our lives. And, we had a bit in common.

I mentioned that I was a football player in high school. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy playing the sport and going pro was a goal of mine, but I mostly played football as a safety net to go to college. I didn't slack in academics, mind you, but I wanted to do everything I could to get into college, and an athletic scholarship would help a lot with that, considering that my family wasn't exactly in the best financial situation.

Paying for college was the reason for Athena to become an Idol. For the sake of her parents and the students in her school from knowing, she'd often died her hair a different color or even sport a wig while using a pseudonym. She also wasn't exactly in the best financial situation prior to her new career. However, she's been raking in a lot of money since then. As a matter of fact, she took time to learn English because she wanted to take a class in the U.S. or U.K. in the future.

We both liked Manga and Anime. We both shared taste in music (we listen to almost anything, but mostly Hip-Hop, Rock, and EDM). Just like me, she had a bit of berserk button. Specifically, she didn't like being called a whore, slut, or the like for what she does for a living. Of course, we had our differences, such as favorite food (mine was chicken and steak burritos, hers was salmon sashimi), and favorite video game characters (mine was Fox McCloud, hers was Samus Aran).

By the time we called it a day, the sun was coming down. So we walked up to the Teleport Gate, holding each other's hand. We stopped in front of it before we turned to each other.

"Thanks for spending time with me," I said.

"Thanks for asking me out," she said. With her free hand, she pulled up her menu before tapping at it a few times. A box opened up in front of me, showing a friend request from her. Without hesitation, I accepted it with a smile. "I'd like to do this again."

"We shall. I promise."

She smiled at me before we slowly released each other's hand. After that, she turned towards the gate. "Destination, Lindarth." The gate "opened" up, lighting up. She walked up to it. But before she stepped into the light, she looked over her shoulder at me. "…Just to let you know, the only reason I didn't kiss you is because I don't do that on the first date." With that she stepped through the portal, leaving me with a look surprise. Once the gate closed, I smiled to myself. I then used the gate to the 50th Floor.

From there, I walked home with a huge smile on my face, singing to myself.

"Even if she go away, even if she go away… I'm a classic man! You could be mean when you look this clean! I'm a classic man!"


	9. Chapter 9

"…You know, it seems as if you're having quite the time inside of the game," Matthew pointed out.

"…I was," I said with a frown. "And honestly, that was where my internal crisis was rooted in." I paused as I tried to think of the right words to say. "The thing about me is… it's easy for me to be distracted from internal issues when I'm focused on other stuff. At that time, I was doing Clearing work. I was playing Sheriff at times. I put in work in Agil's store. And I was dating. I never really had time to think about the question that kept on popping up."

"So what made you starting thinking about the question?" Matthew leaned forward. "Or, rather, when did the crisis actually start for you?"

"Well, I got the worst thing I could possibly get – I got downtime."

88888888888

The floor boss wasn't found yet. Agil decided to close shop for a week to help the Clearers find it. Athena went with them as well. I wanted to join them, but since I was putting in a lot of work over the last few weeks, they insisted I rest. Even when some people needed me to play Sheriff, Lancer and Klein decided to take on matter themselves. Also, Asuna and Kirito were off together doing whatever they were doing at the time. They swear they're not a couple, but no one was buying it.

Honestly, I couldn't even grind anymore. Well, I could, but the gains were so minimal, it was basically pointless. Instead, I remained at home, lying on my bed as I fiddled around with one of my daggers. Unfortunately, that small activity wasn't any near enough to keep me distracted. So, I ended up asking myself that question.

"Why am I fighting?" I asked.

"I don't know?" a voice identical to mine said. I turned my head to my right to see a copy of myself walking across the room. He stopped at the window and looked through it for a few moments. He then looked over at me.

I guess this is the part where I explain this. Whenever I'm really thinking hard about something, I imagine my subconscious taking a form identical to myself. It was… a more elevated form of talking to myself, if that made sense.

"It's been a minute, huh, Quinton?" he said. I raised my eyebrows a bit. Really, that was the first time in a while that anyone, myself included, called me by that name.

"Why are you here?" I asked as I went back to playing with the dagger.

"I think we both know the answer to that question, Q." He walked up to me. "I'm here to help you answer the real question – why are you fighting?"

"It's the right thing to do," I replied. I knew that answer was crap.

"Riiiiiight!" He then turned his head left and right. "LOOK EVERYONE! WE HAVE A NEW SUPERHERO! CAAAAAAAAAAAAAPTAIN AINCRAAAAAD!" He smiled widely, then glared at me. "Cut the crap, Quinton. You know dang well that's not the reason?"

"What, you don't think I believe that?" As I said this, I laid my dagger off to the side and turned my body as I sat up. "It IS the right thing to do, is it not?"

"Oh it is," my subconscious said with a nod. "There's no doubt about that. But that's not your reason."

"Then what is my reason?" I shot back.

My subconscious pointed at me. "See, that's what I'm getting at – you don't have one."

I narrowed my eyes as I slowly stood up. "Now you're full of it."

"Considering you're basically talking to yourself, I think we can safely say that you've reached the stage of self-realization." He took a step towards me. "You don't have a reason to fight. And that's your reason for fighting. You're fighting so you don't have to acknowledge the fact."

"I do have reasons," I said, still trying to lie to myself. "I have to beat this game and go back to reality!"

"Go back to reality, you say?" he chuckled. "Okay, let's play that game. Let's say… everyone beats this game tomorrow. We all go back to our lives. What are you going back to? Your family? Well, sure. You love them a lot, and you'd be happy to see their faces – especially your little brother, who hasn't even visited you because, understandably, neither you nor your folks don't want him to see you as a convict. Your friends? Okay. They're not bad people. They've done some bad stuff, but they're really trying to turn their lives around. All power to them, I say.

"But you're still serving time. Every day, you have guards and staff telling when you can come out of your cell, when you can have the privilege to eat their…" He paused as he scoffed. "…fine dining. You have no privacy, no freedom. And when you do get out, you have to deal with burden of being an ex-con." He tilted his head. "Am I wrong?"

I opened my mouth to say something, anything to refute him. But my subconscious was right on the money.

"But, now, we're here in Aincrad," he continued. He held his arms out as he turned around in place. "You may not be around your family, but you got new friends. You have a job. You have people who look up to you. You can make plans for what you want to do on a Friday or Saturday night. You're dating a smoking hotty. You even have real estate to your name. But above all that, you have freedom." He faced me again. "You know that, but you don't want to recognize it."

"Why wouldn't I?" I said, trying desperately not lose this argument to myself. My subconscious walked to me.

"Simple," he stated. "Because recognizing all of that would lead you to two conclusions. Conclusion number one – this world isn't a prison to you. It's freedom. And conclusion number two – you're basically living off of the freedom that was going to be given to the other members of your cellblock."

I stood there, eyes wide. I tried everything I could to refute my subconscious, but I couldn't think of anything. He was right.

I felt a heavy feeling in my chest as I looked off to the side. My subconscious was gone – well, at least the imagined personification of it was. I was alone in my home. I pulled up my contact list to look for anyone who might have been available to message, but then remembered that they were all preoccupied. Growling out in frustration, I pulled out a teleport crystal.

"Teleport – Town of Beginnings!"

Even to this day, I don't know why I decided to go all the way down to the 1st Floor. Considering that The ALF was a huge presence on the first 25 floors. I heard some rather bad rumors about them – about how they often levied taxes against the residents there and would attack anyone who refused. It was pretty messed up because, more often than not, the ones they attacked weren't even highly leveled, even by non-Clearer standards.

Well, whatever the reason behind me going to the Town of Beginnings, it was going to turn out to be a blessing.

When I got there, I walked up to the fountain. I took a few moments to change my clothes around until I was wearing my grey leather armor and wielding a sword. From there, roamed the floor for days. I didn't even remember what I ate or where I slept. All I know was that I was roaming, taking time to hideout whenever I saw an ALF member.

During that time, I felt like I was the most horrible person ever. Was it right for me to feel that way? I don't know. Was it right for me to enjoy a world that was Hell for everyone else? Again, I don't know. I was trying to get a hold of myself, but I couldn't.

After days of roaming the town, I took a seat on the edge of the fountain… and just sat there for a long while.

I was in my feelings over my realization. Honestly, at that moment, I couldn't stand myself. On one side, I was basically enjoying a world that was basically a prison. I pretty much have a lot of what I wanted. I had freedom, a woman who thought I was worth her affections, and... well, I wasn't a professional athlete, but I was talked a lot about in the newsletter issues (The Radius, the publication was called). And on the other side, the freedom that came with the game also belonged to the others in the cellblock.

 _What the heck?_

"Weren't you asked to relax?"

I looked up to see Agil walking up to me.

"I thought you were out looking for the boss," I said as I stood up.

"We did." Once he approached me, the two of us tapped fists in greeting. "Remembering the protocol – scouting first, then we plan the attack."

"True," I said with a tilt of my head. "What brings you here?"

"I'm making a delivery to the church," he replied. "Want to tag along?"

"Not like I got anything better to do," I said, shrugging as I stood up.

The two of us took a walk through the city. I didn't see much in the way of people. Granted, the sun was about to set, so maybe there wasn't much of a nightlife here anymore. Then again, maybe people didn't want to deal with The ALF anymore.

We remained quiet for some moments. I then stopped in my tracks. Agil took a few steps before he noticed I stopped. He turned towards me with a look of concern on his face.

"Are you okay, Chalquin?" he asked.

"…Can I ask you a question?" I said slowly.

"I don't see why not."

I took in a breath as I tried to think of the right words to say. "Hypothetically speaking… what if you met someone on the frontlines who… doesn't really want to leave SAO. What would you think of him… or her?" I averted my gaze.

He didn't say anything at first. I looked at him, seeing that he had a thoughtful expression. He then answered. "I don't think those feelings are too unusual. I don't particularly feel that way, but I have to remember that not everyone's life was good prior to being in this game."

"I see," I said quietly. He kept his eyes on me. Really, the man could read anyone like a book. So, I wasn't too surprised when he asked the next question.

"Do you want to stay in SAO?"

"…To be honest?" I frowned. "I don't want to say I _want_ to stay in SAO, but it's hard for me to find a reason to go back to the real world. I mean, there's my family of course. But…"

"You're incarcerated," Agil finished for me. I nodded.

"When I go back, I'll be in some hospital. Once I'm back on feet, I'll be taken back to prison to serve the rest of my time. But here? I'm free. I can do almost anything I want. I can hang with my friends while I'm out on the town. I can spend time with my girlfriend. I can go clothes shopping, fishing… I can't watch TV, obviously, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a day where there isn't at least one of the entertainment guilds putting on a show. Or, if none of that vibes with me, I could just stay in my own home. I mean, I know that once I die here, I die in the real world. But… that just makes this world more real to me. And that disturbs me. And add to the fact that I'm in this game while others in my cellblock are it's just… just…"

"I get it," Agil said calmly, putting his hands up lowering them to try and calm me down. He chuckled slightly.

"You don't find it strange?" I asked.

"No." He shook his head. "I… well, I can't say I know how you feel exactly, but I can imagine." He beckoned me to follow him as he walked. I ran up to his side before I slowed my pace into a walk. "So you feel guilty about having a life in this game, huh?"

"Yeah," I replied.

"So what do you think you should have done?"

"…" I looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "I don't follow."

"Well, do you think you should live with every second of your life in here dedicated to the cause?" Agil turned his head towards me. "Do you think that would be a good way to live?"

"Well…" I began, but trailed off. "…I mean…"

"Listen Chalquin, I understand – it's a death game that we're all trapped in against our will. But at the same time, living 100 percent devoted to the game… it's not a good way to live." He smiled slightly. "You have the right to find solace in this game, you know?"

As he said that, we approached the front door of a church.

"…So, why am I fighting?" I said, thinking out loud. Agil looked at me. I looked back at him. "Sorry, I'm just wondering what my motivation is. I keep on telling myself that I'm fighting because it's the right thing to do, but… I'm not sure that is a good reason."

"Perhaps it would help to see what the right thing looks like." I raised an eyebrow as we stopped at the door. He brought his hand up and knocked on the door. A few moments later, the door opened, revealing a woman that looked rather… well, I maybe "nun-ish" isn't the right term, but she did look like someone who was of the holy disposition. She pushed up her glasses with her index finger as she smiled at Agil.

"Good afternoon, Agil," she said with a smile. She then looked at me. "I see you brought a friend."

"This is Chalquin," he said with a slight bow. "He's my assistant in the shop, as well as a fellow Clearer."

"Pleased to meet you," I added, doing a slight bow.

"I'm Sasha," she said, bowing as well. "The pleasure is all mine."

"We're here to drop off the usual," Agil said. "I take it the children are doing well."

I furrowed up my eyebrows as I looked at him. "Children?" 

"I guess I should explain," Sasha said, getting my attention again. "When Sword Art Online went online, it wasn't just teens and adults who were playing – there were also children playing the game, a lot of them being ten and younger."

"…" I tilted my head in disbelief. "You're joking."

"For once in my life, I wish my sense of humor was that dark." She frowned. "They can't defend themselves like you two can. So I do everything I can to protect and provide for them." As she said this, a box opened up in front of both Agil and her. I eyed both boxes, seeing that a lot of Cor was being offered to her. "Agil has been helping me a lot with that. He really is a saint."

As she accepted the money, I finally made the connection.

Agil's shop, while popular, was also notorious for the huge price mark up. To be honest, I just figured he did it to keep his gear up to snuff. However, every now and again, we would compare Cor amount, and there were times where I would have more than him by a million or two.

"You've been giving money to help Sasha," I said.

"Not just me," Sasha stated. "He helps all of the low level players."

"Oh…"

We stayed for dinner. During time, I interacted with the kids. I performed a few dagger tricks and told them stories of my adventures, like the time Klein, Kirito, and I took down a stone golem in a trap room, or the time Agil, Lancer, and I slayed that dragon during the lower floors. I embellished the details about how big the dragon was at the time, just so they could be entertained. I even took pictures with them.

After bidding farewell to Sasha and the kids, Agil and I parted ways. He still had deliveries to make, and I felt it was best for me to call it a night.

So, as I lay on my bed, I looked up at the ceiling, playing with a dagger. During this, my subconscious made an appearance again. Looking at me, he asked the question.

"…So why are you fighting?"

I twirled the dagger in before I gripped the hilt. I then turned it around until I saw part of my face reflecting off the blade.

"…Because, it's not all about me," I replied.

At that point, I was no longer fighting for the sake of doing the right thing. There were people out there that really depended on us. Don't get me wrong, I already knew that. But it really sunk in during my time at the cathedral. Those kids… along with the others who chose not to fight because they couldn't… they were who I were fighting for.

They were the reason I was fighting.


	10. Chapter 10

"So you were able to come to terms with the fact that you weren't too keen on fighting to be freed from the game," Matthew said. "And you continued to fight until the end."

"Basically," I said. "I wanted the others to be free, even if beating the game didn't grant me that same freedom."

"I have to admit, that's pretty selfless of you, given the circumstances." He then tilted his head. "I have to talk about your relationship with Athena again. So, you guys have been dating for a while. Forgive me if I'm pressing a bit, but I think it must be asked. Did you two ever engage in sexual activity?"

"Nope," I said, blushing a bit as I did so. "No, we never took it that far. I knew I was at Florida's age of consent at the time, and she was way above Japan's, but we decided not to do anything of that sort, just in case. Heck, I didn't even kiss her for a long while."

88888888888

It was the seven of us – Kirito, Asuna, Agil, Klein, Lancer, Athena, and myself. We stood in front of the Armored Stone Soldier, which was down to one knee. Well, most of us stood – Lancer was on top of a horse. How he manages to be so proficient at fighting while on horseback was a mystery to me. Behind us were the support tanks. The Armored Stone Soldier itself was down to half a life bar. I looked around, checking everyone's health. Fortunately, none of us were in that bad of a shape.

"Alright," Asuna said as she readied her sword. "Remember the plan!" She then turned her face toward me. "Shall we begin?"

"Yes ma'am!" I said. With that, I rushed forward, steel grappling hook in hand. As the monster stood all the way, I smiled before I ran all the way forward. With an instant, I went into a baseball slide, moving in between the monster's legs as he tried to reach down and grab me. Once I was behind it, I quickly stood started swinging around the grappling hook. Once the hook glowed, I sent it flying into the air, watching it fly as it embed itself into the back of the Stone Soldier's head. I started to pull, digging in my feet to keep the giant as immobile as possible. During this, Lancer started riding around the giant as he readied his spear. During this, the giant tried to step forward. I grunted as I felt my feet being dragged on the ground against my will.

"Any time now, Lancer!" I yelled out through a clenched jaw.

"Patience!" he yelled back. A few seconds later, a spear went flying through the air before it went straight into the monsters neck. I released my grappling hook and backed away, letting the monster turn around in its spot as it tried to pull the spear out its neck.

"Klein, Agil, go!"

Immediately, those two rushed forward, with Klein some feet ahead of Agil. As the beast turned around, slowly facing its back towards them, the two of them readied their weapons.

"TSUJIKAZE!" Klein yelled out. He disappeared in a flash. A split second later, he was in front of the leg he was attacked. That same leg was now sporting a deep glowing cut.

"Gaia's Bane!" Agil roared out. He wasn't as fast as Klein. And that was fine by me. I got to see every brutal millisecond of Agil's battle axe swinging around horizontally before it ripped a giant gash into previously uninjured leg. The beast bellowed out in agony before it dropped to its knees.

"Athena, you're up!" Asuna declared.

"Roger!" With her tekagi-shuko claws equipped, Athena charged. As soon as she close enough, she jumped forward, rearing her hands back. Once she was high enough, she sent her hands forward, stabbing the claws into the armored back of the monster. Growling in frustration, the Stone Soldier reached behind its back, trying to grab her. She used the claws to help her climb, ignoring the grabbing attempts. She ascended until pulled herself up onto the back of the Soldier's collar.

"Owl Attack!" After that, she slashed the back of the monster's neck fourteen times. During this, the monster started to fall forward. She then jumped off right before the monster fell with the thud.

"I think it's time for the finale, boss!" Athena yelled out with a laugh before she jumped backward.

"Kirito, are you ready," Asuna said as she drew her rapier – The Lambent Light.

"Yes!" Kirito replied back with gusto, readying his trademark black sword – The Elucidater.

The two of them rushed forward, swords glowing. Honestly, they moved so fast that it was practically a light show. I saw two streaks of light separating before they rose into the air. They then combined into light before they came crashing down onto the monster. The soldier let loose one last roar before it shattered into red lights. Once the "Congratulations" banner appeared, I smiled as the whole room cheered.

"Sixty floors down," I said with a nod before I took a knee. My smile then faded a bit. "…Forty more to go."

"At least we're over halfway there," Lancer pointed out before he started to drink from his potion.

"Baby steps," Agil said as he sat down. "At the very least, we didn't lose anyone."

"That's always a good thing." As I said that, I tilted my head briefly.

We were a little over a year in SAO. If I remember correctly, it was January. Over the months, I came to terms with the fact that we were going to be in the game for the long haul. We were making progress though. That progress helped me remain optimistic that we would clear this game… eventually.

During that time, the seven of us started to be talked about more and more amongst the people and what passed for the media in the game. It had gotten to the point where the papers called us The Killer Seven, dubbing Heathcliff's "Magnum Force". It was bull, really. Don't get me wrong, we were all friends, but weren't a team. Or maybe we were, since we teamed up a lot. But, it wasn't like we were a formal unit. We were just seven people trying to do best we could.

Adding to all were the nicknames given to use. Kirito, due to dressing in all black and carrying a black sword, was The Black Swordsman (same name he was always called, but in a positive light this time).

Asuna was known as The Lightning Flash due to her extreme speed. There really wasn't anyone who can outrun her – except maybe Heathcliff, but, on principle, I refused to count him.

Agil, of all names, was given The Merchant of Death – I guess even on the battlefield, he couldn't live down his notorious business practices.

Klein became known as The Ultimate Survivor, since The Guild he led was the only Frontline guild to never lose a member at that time – and that remained true for the whole entirety of the game. Not even The KoB could boast that.

Athena became known as The Living Guillotine when word of her beheading one of her coercers with a single punch somehow leaked out to the public. She hated that name.

Lancer, due to his tendency to fight on horseback, was nicknamed The Dullahan's Vessel.

As for myself, due to me basically being what passed for ninja and my tendency to wear wolf pelts, I became known as…

"The Phantom Wolf King," I said as I shook my head.

It was the day after the boss raid. I was on the 55th Floor of Aincrad in The Knights of The Blood new base. It was a large steel tower that was surrounded by a metal gate. The metal gate had spears sticking out from it, serving as flagpoles for the red banners that hung from them. Plus, it was in the middle of Granzam, the largest city of the floor.

It was pretty lavish, as expected for a piece of real estate that cost a billion Cor. It was pretty necessary – the previous base was a small house on the 39th Floor. As the guild grew larger, the house became even smaller. The tower was perfect. It had multiple floors, each used for different purposes. There was a floor for meetings and hearings, one for sparring matches and training, one for spare housing for the members who didn't have any homes of their own or just needed to rest their bones, one for to serve as a small armory, and even one for the blacksmiths and tailors. And that wasn't even all of them.

At the moment, I was in the basement, which really was a cave with a decent sized hot spring in it. Dress in my sleeping clothes, I sat in it as I read a copy of The Radius. Athena was seated next to me, dressed in swimwear, resting her head on my shoulder.

"At least you're not called The Living Guillotine," Athena said with a chuckle. "Would you prefer to be called something else?"

"I could do without the nicknames altogether," I said. "Honestly, I don't see the point of it."

"Morale," Athena said, reaching for the paper. I loosened my grip on it, allowing her to take from me. "There are a lot of people in this game who are not fighting, yet hear about what's happening on the frontlines. Giving us these nicknames is a way of romanticizing the fight and maintaining hope. It may be just duty to us, but we are heroes to them."

As she said this, she folded up the paper before she made an airplane out of it. She then tossed it into the air. I watched the paper airplane glide through the air. It looped once before it landed on the water. Instantly, it dissipated into lights.

"I guess it's better to be called a hero than a criminal," I said with a brief tilt of my head.

"Or a mere a sex object," Athena added.

The two of us looked at each other, we then laughed out loud for some seconds. After that, we went quiet. I put my right arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. She made a sound of contentment as she laid her head on my shoulder again. We remained like that for a while. Well, it may have been a minute, but I was savoring the close contact with her. We were relaxed, enjoying the break from being on the frontlines.

"Chalquin… may I ask you something?" Athena asked in English. I raised an eyebrow as I turned my head towards her.

"What's up, Athena?" I replied, a little concern in my voice as I spoke in English as well. We only spoke in English whenever there was a topic that one of us wanted to talk about without cluing anyone outside of the conversation on it.

"What are you going to when you get out?"

At that, I scoffed. "I'll probably wake up in some hospital, do my rehab, then head back to prison." She pulled her head away from my shoulder and look at me with a slight frown on her face. "What? I'm a convict. A wrongful convict, but a convict nonetheless. I don't get to go home after this."

"That's not what I meant," Athena said with a shake of her head. "I mean, what are you going to do when you get out of prison?"

I looked off to the side and thought about it. I never thought about it before. Prior to that point, I was either thinking about just doing my time or trying to clear the game. So, after some moments, I shook my head as I look back at her.

"I don't know, to be honest," I replied. "I mean, don't get me wrong, there are a few things I plan on doing, like spending time with family, and trying to get in contact with you in the real world." I smiled slightly. She responded with a small smile of her own. "But, beyond that? I don't know." I sighed. "Finding a school that'll take me will be a bit of a pain. Finding a job will even be more of a pain. I think I'm going to be spending most of my time trying to dig myself out of a hole, just because I went against my gut feeling."

I tilted my head. I had no problem doing a long distance relationship. But then, there was the matter of me being incarcerated. I knew she didn't have a problem with that, but that meant it'd be a couple of years until I could even reach out to her. "Would you be willing to wait for me?" I asked.

"Is that even a question?" Athena replied. She stood up from the water. I looked up at her eyebrows raised. "Do you trust me?"

"You know I do," I said as I stood up myself. Athena brought her right hand up placed it on my cheek.

"Well, I promise you this – I'll get you out."

My eyes went a bit wide when she said that. I then narrowed them. "…You're not going to have a team break me out, will you?"

"What? No, silly!" She chuckled. She then paused. "Wait, would you be opposed to that?"

"…Yes. Yes I would." I scoffed, but I'd be lying if I said I was 100 percent against it. It was more like 85. "But seriously, what do you have planned?"

"I can find a lawyer for you. One could that can help you overturn your conviction. I'll even cover the fee."

My eyes went a bit wide again. "…You would do that for me?" I whispered out.

"Of course," she said. She then leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. I felt my face warm up as I closed my eyes. "Would you be willing to wait for me?"

I nodded and smile. I then continued to stare into her jade eyes. My smile faded as I placed my left hand on her right hand. She stared back at me with a certain look her in eyes.

I wanted to kiss her right there and then. There have been times when we came close to doing so. Whenever we did, though, something always happened that prevented us from doing so, whether it'd be a message or some happening out on the town. It was funny and frustrating at the same time. But there we were, alone in a hot spring. So, slowly, we leaned towards each other until our noses were just touching. I continued to look into her eyes, checking for any sign of inhibition. I didn't get any. So, I titled my head, ready to finally kiss her.

And that's when the door was kicked open. I turned my head and glared at the person who dared to intrude on our moment.

It was Kuradeel.

Quickly, Athena moved behind me and out of his view, kicking up water as she did so.

"Kuradeel, do you not know how to knock!" she hissed loudly.

"Please excuse me, Lady Athena, but you have been summoned to the boardroom, along with Chalquin," he said in an even tone. "It's an urgent matter, and Heathcliff asked that you two be there as soon as possible."

"…And what, pray tell, is going on for Heathcliff to need us this very moment?" I asked in eerily calm tone, still miffed that the moment between Athena and I was ruined.

"I don't know the exact details. All I know is that it involved The Laughing Coffin."

I went quiet as I felt my blood go cold. Athena poked her head from behind me.

"We'll be there, Kuradeel. Just leave already!"

"As you wish."

He walked out, closing the door behind him. I still stood there, mouth ajar. I then sighed.

This was going to suck.


	11. Chapter 11

"Allow me to stop you right there," Matthew said. I nodded. "This Laughing Coffin… I've seen that name pop up in many translated testimonies provided by a man named Seijiro Kikuoka, a member of Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs. With the exception of the names – both real names and SAO names – and any information that may indicate who they are in the real world, the information in the testimonies was without redaction. They all indicated that it was a… Killer Guild?"

"Pretty much," I said, not even trying to hide the contempt in my voice. "They were a group that went around killing people. Sometimes they're hired to do it, sometimes they do it for the heck of it. They have killed so much that they've been called a Red Guild."

"Why is that?" 

I slowly raised my hands and pointed my fingers above my head. "Every player has a cursor above their head. If the cursor was green, then that meant that, at the very least, you haven't killed anyone in a long while. If it was orange, you've killed someone recently." I lowered my hands. "Word around Aincrad was that they've killed so many people some of its members don't even remember the last time they've had a green cursor. That, and there were rumors going around about players swearing up and down that they saw them with red cursors." I scoffed at that last part. "But yeah, they've been a huge problem for a long while."

"Well, now I have to ask – if they were such a problem, why did it a take a while for them to be a dealt with?"

I sighed. "The problem was that, by rules of the game, they weren't a guild."

Matthew tilted his head. "I don't follow."

"They never became an official guild. They were a bunch of players that were partied up. Because of that, they could move around in the shadows or in plain daylight and even join actual guilds. The only thing that indicated whether or not someone was a part of Laughing Coffin was by a tattoo – a coffin with a face and an arm hanging out of it. And since the tattoo was more than small enough to hide with simple clothing, a Laughing Coffin member could be right next to you in a city and you wouldn't even know it."

"So how were they able to be dealt with?" Matthew asked.

"Well, funny thing about having an organization of kill-happy people is that there's a good chance of mistakes happening. And one mistake they made was getting the proper attention of The Knights of The Blood.

88888888888

"I'm sorry about the inconvenience," Heathcliff said.

I stood in front of him and the rest of the higher-ups. In front of me was a table with almost all of my clothing and gear. Almost, since I was dressed in a pair of shorts, and nothing else. Athena stood to my right, cross expression on her face as she looked off to her side.

"Inconvenience?" I repeated. I scoffed incredulously. "No, sir. Having Kuradeel interrupt my alone time with Athena is an inconvenience. Having my naked body examined by two of your members while others examine my gear and weapons would be something that I should have been warned about first."

"Perhaps. But we needed to make sure that you weren't a member of Laughing Coffin."

"Yeah, you see, that's the thing!" I pointed straight at him. "You STILL haven't given me the reason behind me being suspected!"

"It's because of your proficiency in potion crafting," he said simply. I lowered my arm as I raised my eyebrow. "Laughing Coffin members tend to be well-versed in crafting potions, to the point where they imbue weapons, foods, and drinks with the effects of the potions. I understand that you're able to do these things, and have done so during your times of assisting in civilian matters. So we had to make sure. If we had warned you ahead of time and were a member of Laughing Coffin, there wouldn't have been anything stopping you from using a teleport crystal to get away."

"…" I wanted to retort, but I couldn't. He was right.

"Besides, I would have thought you'd be happy with having your body inspected by two beautiful women," a man at the table said with a laugh. That laughing died down when Athena her head towards him and glared.

"…What?" she said in a grim tone.

"Relax, Sweetie," I said, bringing my right arm out in front of her. As I said this, I looked at the man. "Hey, Daizen, if you could not blurt stuff like that out loud in front of my girlfriend, that'd me nice!"

Athena sighed. "I can't even get a kiss from you," she muttered underneath her breath. I couldn't help but sigh.

"Moving on," Heathcliff interjected. "Now that we're pretty sure you're not a Laughing Coffin member, we can tell you the reason behind of all of this."

"That would be nice," I said, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

"Well, during the last boss raid, two of our own, Echo and Orion, were ambushed and killed on one of the lower floors. And we have reason to believe that Laughing Coffin was behind it." He paused as the room went quiet. Athena and I shared a look of worry. Everyone in their mother knew who Laughing Coffin was, but we didn't expect them to be brazen enough to take down two members of The Knights of The Blood, much less even THINK about attacking a Knight. "We've been aware of them for a while, but, a bit to my shame, these two deaths have led me to believe that Laughing Coffin needs to be dealt with as soon as possible."

"But how?" I asked. "They're not even an official guild. They don't even have a rhyme or reason to who they kill except when they're hired. And we don't even know how people go about doing that."

"Plus it doesn't help that our names are all over the papers," Athena said as she looked to the side.

"I know," Heathcliff said. "That's why I made arrangements. You two will be meeting with Asuna and Kirito. The reason for this is that they may have a lead. As such, you two will be assisting them and finding out the location of their hideout, if it exists. Once we find out that out, we'll coordinate an attack to finally bring them down."

"Alright," Athena said. "We'll leave at once."

After a quick visit to the smiths to make sure that our gear was up to snuff, we took a trek towards the Teleport Plaza.

"So, when you were going to tell me that you were searched by two women?" Athena said as we walked.

"I was hoping never," I replied frankly. I turned my head towards her to see her glaring at me. "Look, it wasn't exactly an enjoyable experience. I was dang near expecting a cavity search." I shuddered. "It just felt like prison all over again."

Athena continued to glare at me. She then let out a breath before she turned her head forward. "You still should have told me."

"…You're not having a good morning, are you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Our alone time was ruined, Kuradeel saw me in my swimwear, and two women was more intimate with my boyfriend than I am. No, Chalquin, I'm not having a good morning."

"Well, I hope they got their money's worth," I said. I reached over with my right and took hold of her left. "Because only you are allowed to touch me like that." She looked at me. She then turned her head forward as she blushed.

"…You're still not off the hook," she replied. Still, she gave my hand a subtle squeeze. I smiled slightly.

After entering through the Teleport gate, we arrived on the first floor and made our way to Black Iron Prison.

Black Iron Prison was housed within The Black Iron Palace. As you probably guessed from the name, it was a prison where players are held. The easiest way to be sent there was by violating The Manner Violation Prevention code, which usually entailed sexual harassment. However, the guilds also used the prison to imprison other people who crossed the lines without technically violating The Code.

We waited outside of the palace for about 15 minutes before Asuna and Kirito arrived.

"Sorry we're late," Asuna said as they walked up to us. "We had something come up."

"Did it involve the meeting of oral muscles?" Athena asked with a suggestive tone. I gave her a sideways glance, seeing the smile of mischief on her face. I then looked back at Asuna and Kirito. Kirito was blushing quite a bit with the most uncomfortable smile on his face. Asuna, on the other hand, balled upper her fists as she glared at Athena.

"Must you always tease us?" Asuna demanded.

"I'll stop teasing you two when you stop beating around the bush."

Asuna looked over at me and gave me a look of pleading. I let loose a chuckle before I spoke up.

"Now-now, Athena," I said. "We're here on serious business. We can tease these two closeted lovebirds later." Asuna's eyes went wide. She then opened her mouth to speak.

"So, why are we here anyway?" Athena asked.

"There is someone here who hired Laughing Coffin for an assassination attempt," Kirito said. As he started to walk, all three of us followed him. "Asuna and I actually foiled his plot."

"Oh really?" I said. "Do tell."

The player's name was Grimlock. He was a part of defunct guild known as Golden Apple. The guild was rather strong, with one of their former members, Schmitt, becoming a sub-leader for the Divine Dragon Alliance, which was one of the strongest clearing guilds in the game. Anyway, as Kirito explained, Grimlock paid Laughing Coffin to kill Griselda, who was both the leader of Golden Apple and Grimlock's wife. The other guild members didn't know, only knowing that Griselda was killed by another player while she was out to get a rare ring appraised for the sake of selling it.

Two other former members of that guild, Caynz and Yolko, hatched a scheme to figure out who her killer was, faking their deaths so they could move undetected and flush out the culprit. Problem was, their prime suspect was Schmitt. So, Grimlock helped them by crafting weapons for their ruse. And since Grimlock was let in on their plan, he hired Laughing Coffin once more, this time to assassinate all three of them in one go. And he almost got away with it.

Fortunately for the three of them, Grimlock was married to his wife in game as well. You see, when two players marry in the game, their inventories would be merged into one. As such, there have been cases, albeit rare ones, of players marrying out of convenience. If one married player died, the player he or she was married to would receive everything they owned. That – along with the fact that, according to Yolko, Grimlock was one of three members who voted to keep the ring that was going to be sold – led Kirito to realize that Grimlock was scheming. So, with the help of Asuna, Kirito foiled the plot. After Caynz, Yolko, and Schmitt took him away, Grimlock ended up in Black Iron Prison.

When I asked about Grimlock's motive, I was wondering what Griselda did to make him do such a thing. Was infidelity involved? Did she suddenly treat him like crap? Was she stealing behind his back?

Nope. You want to know the reason?

"…He had her killed because she was longer a submissive doormat that stayed in the kitchen?" I said, eyes wide.

"…Basically," Kirito said with a scowl.

"…" I covered my mouth with my left hand as I looked off to the side. After taking in a breath, I lowered my hand. I opened my mouth to say something, but I closed it, unable to form words.

"I believe what Chalquin is trying to say is… 'Let's talk to this douchebag and be done with it'," Athena said.

I nodded. "Thanks, Love."

"Anytime, Sweetie!"

We walked into the palace and entered the prison. As we made our way down the block, many of the imprisoned players started taunting us from behind the bars, yelling out random insults. I tried to keep a cool exterior, but I partially failed. Once again, I was reminded of where I was going to be after we beat this game.

Fortunately, before I could dwell on that any further, I was taken out of my thoughts when I felt Athena's hands around mine.

"Wait for me," she whispered in my ear in English.

I looked at her for a moment. I then smiled slightly.

Once we reached the end of the hall, we saw Schmitt standing there in full armor.

"Schmitt," I greeted with a nod.

"Chalquin," he replied, nodding as well. He then looked towards Kirito. "Nice to see you again, Kirito."

"Likewise," Kirito said with a nod and a slight smile.

"Is it true? That The Knights of The Blood are trying to track down Laughing Coffin?"

"It is," I replied. "You have him ready for us?"

"I do." Schmitt then step aside. "Do what you must. Normally, I'd ask that you mind the rules, but given the circumstances behind his imprisonment, I think I'll be looking the other way."

None of us responded. We all walked in through the door to see Grimlock sitting behind a table. He looked up at us through his glasses. He then frowned.

"How lucky am I to be greeted by four of The Killer Seven," he said. I rolled my eyes. I still wasn't fond of that name.

"You know why we're here," Kirito said. "We need information on Laughing Coffin."

"What makes you think I would be of any help?" As he said this, he looked off to the side.

"You hired Laughing Coffin twice," Asuna said, stepping up to the table. "You know how to get in contact with them."

"What's the point?" Grimlock replied in a dejected tone. "I gain nothing from telling and lose nothing for staying quiet." He sighed as he looked back at us. "Either kill me or let me waste away until this game is over."

"That may not be such a bad idea," Athena said, stepping forward. I reached over and grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Easy girl," I said. I then turned my head towards Grimlock. "Listen, we're trying to take down Laughing Coffin. You're our biggest lead right now, and we would heavily appreciate it if you spilled. It'd be the right thing to do."

At that, he scoffed. "I don't care about doing the right thing. I'm beyond that now."

I saw the look on his face. It was a look I saw plenty of times around the joint. There was regret in his eyes. At that point, I decided to try and appeal to that. The thing was, it was a 50/50 shot. Was he sorry about what he did? Or was he sorry he was caught?

"Listen Grim," I began as I started to pace. I stopped in my tracks and turned towards him. "Do you mind if I call you Grim?" I didn't get an answer. I continued to pace. "There's no sugarcoating it. What you did was pretty crappy. Your reason behind doing so? Even crappier. Fact of the matter is, you're a pretty crappy person. But, I think, deep down you realize that. After all, provided you survive at the end of it all, you're going to be waking up in the real world alone because you killed the woman who loved you the most." I stopped in my tracks and looked at him. He looked back at me with an ambiguous look. Was I hitting close to home? Maybe. I decided to keep going.

"I'm not going to pretend that you helping us is going to redeem you for your crime," I stated. "Because honestly, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone short of the creator who'd forgive you for that. But you helping us would go a long way in preventing a lot of future deaths. You owe that much. You owe it to Caynz, Yolko, and Schmitt for not killing you when they had the chance. And you owe it to Griselda."

His eyes went wide for a bit. He then looked down at the desk. He remained like that for several moments. For a moment, I was ready to up and leave.

And then…

"What do you want to know?" Grimlock asked with a sigh.


	12. Chapter 12

"So how did people go about hiring Laughing Coffin?" Matthew inquired. As he asked the question, I was taking a hearty swig from the glass of water. After laying down the glass, I frowned.

"Well, it turned out that not every Laughing Coffin member was a 'Red' player," I replied with a sigh. "There were quite a few, albeit relatively small, amount of them who were Green players."

"So there were non-killers within their group?"

"Yeah. It surprised me, too. But their reasons made sense… in a twisted sort of way. Some of them would much rather setup the kill than partake in it. Others would be used as scouts to feel out the towns to see if there's too much heat on them. And, in this case, they act as liaisons to help set up hits. However, as we found out, not every member was a part of the guild on their volition."

88888888888

"Of course, it had to be a tavern," I said.

Grimlock spilled everything. The guy he usually went to for setting up a hit usually hit up a Tavern on the 50th Floor (because, of course it had to be the 50th Floor). His name was Canus. He often went from floor to floor, scouting towns and checking to see if there were anyone who wanted patronize Laughing Coffin for their… "services". The thing was, he kept a schedule and hit up certain floors regularly.

The 50th Floor was one of them.

"It's better to be in a tavern then out in the open," Kirito said as we sat at a table. "That way our lives won't be at risk."

The two of us decided to try and find this guy. The reasoning was because Kirito was still carrying a bit of stigma for being a "beater". He wanted to go alone. I told him he could go screw himself if he thought he was going to go solo. Asuna wanted to go, but Athena got her to stay, wanting to spend time with her for "girl talk".

"I just KNOW that they're talking about us," I said after placing my order.

"How do you know?" Kirito asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Women talk," I said. "At least, that's what my dad tells me." I chuckled. "So, what's going on between you and Asuna, anyway?" I raised an eyebrow. "Are you guys dating, or nah?"

Kirito's eyebrows rose in slight surprise. He then averted her eyes. "She's not my girlfriend," he said. His tone carried a hint of uncertainty, and his face became slightly flushed.

"Why? Do you not like her?"

"…It's not that."

I eyed him. There was a certain look on his face. His mind was going elsewhere. I didn't know where, but it seemed like a bad place.

"…Look, if it's a touchy subject, I'll drop it," I said, holding my heads up. He slowly brought his eyes towards me. "I mean it."

He looked at me, then nodded. We remained quiet for several moments. And then…

"Do you ever worry about Athena dying?" Kirito asked.

"Well… yeah," I said, slight confusion in my voice. "I worry about all of my friends here dying, you included."

"…Have you ever had anyone close to you die?"

"Not in this game." I leaned back in my seat as the NPC came back with our drinks. "My favorite grandma died when I was 12, though. That was a very bad month or so." I sighed. "How about you? Did you have someone die on you in the game?"

"…Yes." He frowned. "I was a part of a guild once. They were called The Moonlit Black Cats. They were a computer club in real life."

"Ah jeez," I groaned. "What happened?"

"I happened," Kirito said. "When I met the guild, my level was in the 40's while they were in the 20's. I knew it would have been a bad idea, but I joined them anyway." He looked off to the side. "It was a fun for a while. I've grown close to them – especially to Sachi."

"Sachi?"

"Yeah." He looked at me and smiled slightly. "I wouldn't have admitted back then. But… I was… fond of her. Honestly, I loved her." He smile became slightly wider. It then turned into a frown. "But, one day, while the leader was out to buy a house we could all live in, the rest of us went on to grind for extra Cor – we were going use the money for furniture. At one point, we stumbled upon a room with a treasure chest in the middle. I tried to warn them not to go in, but it was too late. Monsters were summoned – higher than they could take on. They all died one by one, with Sachi being the last one."

"What happened to the leader?" I asked, eyebrows raised.

"…I met with him and told him everything, including my status as a beater. He was angry with me. He then jumped off the side of the floor we were on."

"…Bruh…" I said in response. Honestly, what could I say to that?

"…I do like Asuna," he continued. He managed to smile. "She makes me happy, even if we do argue at times…" He trailed off when I gave him a look. "…Okay, a lot of times." He then sighed. "But… if we do become a couple, I don't know if I could take her dying."

 _Well, to be fair, she is a million times more the fighter than all of The Moonlit Black Cats combined, yourself notwithstanding,_ I thought. I wanted to say that, but realized that doing so would have ranked rather high on the scale of 1 to Douche.

"…She can handle herself, Kirito," I replied. "After all, she is one of the best fighters on the front lines, and second command of The KoB for a reason." I tilted my head. "Look, I'm not going to tell you not to feel the way you do…" I let loose a short, almost scoff-like chuckle. "…because, quite frankly, that's some heavy stuff you went through. But, you got somebody special on your hands. I wouldn't let that opportunity go to waste. And this is coming from a guy who… well, you know my situation."

"Yeah," Kirito said.

Yeah, I told Kirito… and Klein, and Asuna. All of the other members of Killer Seven, knew about my situation. They earned the right to know, as far as I knew.

"I'm just sayin'," I added. "When this game is done, you'll be able to find her in the real world."

That was the end of that conversation. We waited, making small talk for the sake of passing the time and being inconspicuous as we looked for Canus.

Eventually, a guy walked in that fitted the description. He was about my height, give or take an itch. He had brown hair that was tied back in the ponytail. He wore light metal armor – basically a grey steel torso piece over a brown long-sleeved shirt with matching trousers. He had a short sword sheathed on his back.

"I think that's him," I whispered to Kirito. As I took a swig from my mug, I watched as he went up to the bar counter, seeing him go up to the bartender. He then started to speak to her. "What do you think we should...?" I trailed off when Kirito put his finger to his lips, telling me to hush. I went quiet as I watched him. He closed his eyes and furrowed up his eyebrows. After several seconds, he opened his eyes.

"He's asking the bartender if anyone wanted to share a drink with him," he said. "Specifically, a scotch." I raised my eyebrows. "I'm very good at Hearing."

"..." I tilted my head.

"…I was able to get a boost to my Hearing after a quest. I'll tell you about it afterwards. But yeah, why a scotch?"

"It's probably a code of sorts," I said. "One of the inmates in my block told me about how his uncle would sell crack while he was working at a drive-thru place. The thing is, he'd hide the rocks in a burger. Buyers would always ask for the meal with the 'special blue cheese'."

"…You have interesting friends," Kirito said.

"That's… one way of putting it," I said as I slowly stood up. "Keep an eye and ear out, will ya? I'm gonna have that scotch."

I walked over to the bar and took a seat next to the man.

"A scotch for me, if you would kindly," I said to the bartender. From my peripheral, I saw Canus give me a look. The bartender herself was given pause before she stepped away. I turned my head towards Canus. "You want to hear something interesting?" I smiled slightly. "Scotch is a type of whiskey. The term 'whiskey' is an English corruption of an Irish and Scottish term, which translates to 'The Water of Life'." I scoffed. "It's a little ironic when you consider the setting, don't you think?"

"…I see you're a learned one," Canus said quietly.

"I did a lot of reading in the real world." _I didn't have much else to do,_ I added internally.

"And I'm guessing the next piece of reading you want to see is on The Monument of Life, huh?" he said with a short bitter laugh.

"You know, death is not a laughing matter," I said. "But, apparently, a certain… 'guild' of sorts feel differently." I narrowed my eyes. Canus looked at me for some seconds. And then I saw the look of realization on his face. He knew who I was. "Don't run." I jerked my head in the direction of Kirito. "Black isn't your color today."

He looked over to where Kirito was sitting. In response, Kirito lifted up his mug in greeting before taking a sip. Canus then looked back at me and scowled at me.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"Well, it's simple really. I…" I paused for a moment. I then looked towards the bartender. "No, seriously, I would like that scotch."

"Oh, sorry."

"No worries." I smiled slightly before I looked towards Canus. "As I was about to say, two members of The Knights of The Blood were killed while they were on the way to assist with a boss raid. Needless to say, Heathcliff was not pleased. The Clearers want to take Laughing Coffin down, and I, along with my friend over there…" I trailed off as soon as the scotch was place near me. I picked up the glass, nodded towards the bartender, took a sip, and continued. "…have reason to believe that you're a part of that guild."

At that, he scoffed. "What makes you so sure?" he asked dismissively.

"Other than your comment about The Monument of Life and your reaction to being targeted by Kirito and I? Well, we had quite a talk with a friend of yours – Grimlock is it?" I raised my eyebrows. I smirked slightly when I saw him visibly gulp. "Look, right now, we should be dragging you off to Black Iron Prison. However, if you help us, we could negotiate a deal. All we want is the hideout."

"…As much as I'd like to help you…" he began. I furrowed up my eyebrows. His tone was rather ambiguous, so I was unsure if he was being sincere or sarcastic. Perhaps it was a little of both. "…I can't." He looked off to the side. "I don't know where the hideout is. All I do is make my rounds and report to another member about bounties. That's all."

"Welp, I guess you, Kirito, and I are about to take a trip," I said. I reached behind my back for a teleport crystal.

"Don't!" he yelled out as he reached out and grabbed my shoulder. The bar went quiet as they all turned and looked at us. I looked over at Kirito, who gave me a smirk that was equal parts amusement and incredulity.

Thinking quickly, I laughed out loud. "Relax my friend!" I said in a jovial tone. "I won't tell her about your crush. Your secret's safe with me!" Some seconds later, the patrons returned to their business. My smile faded as I looked at him. "You better have a good reason for that little outburst."

"Look, I am a member of Laughing Coffin," he said as he withdrew his hand.

"I'm so shocked," I replied in a deadpan tone. He glared at me, but continued.

"But it wasn't by choice."

"What, you were blackmailed?" I asked.

"Basically." He sighed. "Listen… do you have siblings?"

"I have one. Why?"

"Well, I have one as well – a younger brother." He sighed. "He's really a half-brother. My father died when I was younger. Eventually, my mother remarried. I wasn't too fond of my stepfather. He wasn't abusive or anything. I just didn't like the thought of him replacing my actual father. And when my little brother was born, I felt I was forced to accept him. For years, I treated him like crap. But, I eventually realized I was wrong for that. So, over the couple of years before the game, I tried to be a better brother. Eventually, I bought both of us a NerveGear so we could play this game together."

"…How noble of you," I said. "But what this got to do with you being part of Laughing Coffin."

"The two of us were a part of a small guild. That guild got wiped out when we ended up in a trap." He frowned. "It was just the two of us before the Laughing Coffin members intervened. I thought it was by the grace of God that we were rescued… until my brother was held captive."

"So, basically, 'Do as we say or your little brother gets it', right?" I said with a sigh. "Do you know who's holding your brother?"

"Yes. He's the one I report to."

"And when do you have to report to him?"

"Tonight, at 11:30."

I pulled up my menu to check the time.

9:22.

We had a little over two hours. I then sent him a party request. His eyes went wide as he furrowed up his eyebrows.

"This guy sounds like someone we need to bring in," I said. "You go meet him and ask him to take you to your brother. Kirito and I will trail you. We will capture this guy and bring him in for questioning, and you get your brother back. Everyone wins."

"Yeah, except for the fact that now I'll have Laughing Coffin looking for us," he retorted.

"Don't worry about that," I said. "Just trust us."

He looked at me for several seconds. He then nodded before he accepted my request. I then stood up.

"Message me before you go to meet this character," I added. I then looked over at the bartender. "Oh, ma'am?" She turned towards me with a puzzled look. I went through my menu again before offering up a million Cor. "You didn't hear a word. Got it?"

"…" She looked at the amount offered to her with wide eyes. She then nodded as she accepted it.

"Good. Thanks for the drink." I looked over at Kirito, who gave me a nod.

"Let's get ready," I said as I went about making my exit.


	13. Chapter 13

"If I could… digress a little, the fact that there were kids in the game really disturbed me," I said as I looked at Matthew and Nancy. "It really made me wonder what was going through Kayaba's head. I wondered if he knew there were going to be little kids in the game when he set off the trap. And if he did, did he have any remorse?"

"I mean, he trapped 10,001 people in a death game," Matthew pointed out. "I'm no psychologist or anything of the like, but the way I see it, if a person is at the point where there willing to use a video game for a scheme that could potentially result in 10,001 people dying, I doubt you're thinking about the children."

"…True," I said, tilting my head briefly in acknowledgment.

"Well, you and Kirito were going to trap a Laughing Coffin member, right?"

"Yeah. That… was intense."

88888888888

When Canus gave us the message, Kirito and I waited about five minutes before teleporting to the floor he was on. Once we found him, we trailed him from the shadows. As we did so, we kept our heads on a swivel just in case some monster attacked. Eventually we ended up near the edge of the forest, near a rocky terrain. That was when Canus came to a stop.

Kirito and I used a tree as a hiding spot. While he hid behind the trunk, I hid in the branches amongst the leaves. As I did so, I unequipped my wolf pelt. As much as I liked it, I wanted to blend into the dark, and the pelt's color was bit too light, in my opinion.

After some minutes, a figure cloaked in black walked up to Canus. I narrowed my eyes. He was dressed like one of those Plague Doctors from medieval times.

"Hello Canus," he said in a tone that eerily jovial. "How are we tonight?"

"I would prefer it if you didn't greet me like we're old friends, Niall," Canus replied with a subtle amount of contempt.

"Oh, why the long face?" Niall tilted his head. "You should be grateful for us providing care for your little brother."

"What a prick," I muttered underneath my breath.

"So, do you have any news of a bounty?" Niall continued.

After sighing, Canus answered. "There is one. One member of The Killer Seven wants another member dead."

"Oh?" Niall chuckle as he brought his hands together. "Well, isn't that a treat. Do tell."

"Not until I see my brother," Canus said, folding his arms.

"Do you not trust us?" Niall said this with a tone of mock-hurt.

"I get to check on my brother every night. Either you let me do that now, or you can kiss my information about this 10 million Cor bounty goodbye."

I saw Niall's shoulders raise and expand as he breathed. Still, Canus kept a cool head. Finally, Niall spoke.

"I suppose a bounty that high is worth the wait," he said. He then turned around. "Follow me. I do wonder which one of the so-called Killer Seven it is."

We watch them walk off. We waited some minutes before I jumped out of the tree and landed on my feet.

"You know, one could easily learn how to hate a guy like Niall," I said.

"I believe that would be an understatement," Kirito replied with a nod.

After pulling up Canus's name and highlighting it, I turned on the tracker. Seeing his footsteps, I followed them with Kirito in tow. Traversing was a bit of a hassle. The terrain was rocky, and there have been a few times that I have stumbled. I even tripped on a rock so hard that when I stood up, the palms of my hands were red from damage. Fortunately, they returned to normal some seconds later.

We arrived at our destination some time afterward. It was this little house by a small lake. Or was it a pond? Either way, the body of water didn't look even a bit large. The house itself didn't look large either. In all honesty, it should have looked cozy to me. But the fact that this house was used by a group of killers, along with the fact that we were going to this house at midnight, gave me a bit of a horror movie vibe.

"This ain't right," I muttered out loud.

"Not even a little bit," Kirito said in concurrence.

"So, how are we playing this?" I looked around the area. "We can't crash through the window Batman-style."

Kirito scanned the area, then tilted his head. After that, he pointed off into the distance. "You think they'd be worried about their horses?"

I looked off in the direction to see three horses tied to a low hanging branch of the lone tree that was there.

"I guess we're going to find out." I started to crouch. "Let's go."

Slowly, we walked while crouching, making our way towards the horses while keeping an eye on the house. Once we reached the horses, I reached behind my back and took pulled my ninjato from its scabbard.

"Okay Wolf Fang," I whispered. "Do your thing." I reared the sword back. Once I felt the vibration, I swung it around, slicing through the horses' reigns. As expected, the horses start to neigh loudly before they turned and run off in different directions."

We stood up and looked towards the house. We saw silhouettes moving through the window.

"Should we wait for them?" I asked.

"I say we meet them at the door," Kirito suggested.

We both nodded at each other. We then ran towards the house at full speed, with Kirito a few feet ahead of me. As we approached the front door, it opened up. Four people came out. They were masked, cloaked, and armed with swords.

"I'll take the two on the right," I said.

"Got it," Kirito replied.

In a flash, I brought my sword forward, looking as if I wanted to lung into the midsection one of them. However, as soon he brought his sword upward to block, I stopped just short of him before my sword glowed.

 _AMPUTATOR!_

I swung my sword low, faster than my target could react. The Wolf Fang sliced clean through his legs. He screamed out as he fell to the floor. Out of my peripheral, I saw my other target move in. I reached behind my back and pulled out a yellow pick. I waited until his was blade was close to cutting me before quickly moved behind him. As the pick the glowed my hand, I stabbed it into the back of his neck. A split second later, he fell to the ground paralyzed.

I smiled when I looked down at him. I growled through a clenched jaw when felt a blade in my back!

"I still have arms, you idiot!" the one I amputated said. I looked down to see the tip of a blade protrude through what would have been my liver.

"I still have my feet, you dimwit!" I grunted back. I lifted up my right foot. As it glowed, I kicked it backward. I don't know if I kicked him in the head or in the chest, but, either, he was sent flying backward. I cringed as the blade was pulled from my body.

I check my health bar – I was in the yellow. I sighed before I turned around and threw a dart at the legless man. Leaving him paralyzed, I turned to see that Kirito dealt with his foes without even a scratch on him.

"You okay?" he asked as he turned to face me.

"I'll live," I replied with a sigh.

"Stay where you are!"

We both turned around to see Niall with a kid. Said kid was about 4 feet tall, and he wore a simple green shirt with long sleeves and brown shorts. On his head was a small helmet with horns. He honestly looked quite a bit like what one would imagine Canus would look like if he was around six years old.

 _They must get their looks from the mother's side of the family,_ I thought.

Honestly, I would have found the sight cute had it not been for the fact that Niall was holding a knife to his throat.

"Now, we're going to have ourselves a nice, civil conversation," Niall declared in a rather grim tone.

"Where's Canus?" Kirito demanded, tightening his grip on his hilt.

"Right now, Canus is slowly dying from a… tonic… of my own creation." He chuckled slightly. "It's a rather interesting one, really. See, it makes the victim die slowly. First they feel agony, then they lose motor functions. And then, they are trapped inside of their bodies as they die slowly."

I scowled as I looked off towards the house. I then looked back at the kid as I took a knee.

"We'll get you and your brother out of this," I said. "…Hey, what is your name, kid?"

The kid slowly swallowed before he spoke. "L-L-Loki," he replied.

"Well, pleased to meet you, Loki. I'm Chalquin. And you may have heard of mine friend here, Kirito."

"Interesting name, isn't it?" Niall said. "He's named after The God of Trickery, and yet he's too helpless to even help himself. Pretty pathetic, no?"

I stood up and glared at him. "…Says the person who's hiding behind a child."

"You say pathetic, I say pragmatic." He shrugged nonchalantly. "Either way, you don't have time to debate it."

As I stood there, I thought about what Kirito and I could have done. And we had to think quickly. If we waited too long, at least one of the brothers would die. I thought to myself that maybe… just maybe… if I threw a dagger fast enough…

Well, that became a moot. Suddenly, Loki brought his right hand downward. A dagger fell from his sleeve before it was caught by the hilt. In a flash he turned the dagger in his hands and sent the blade into his captor's knee. Niall screamed out and backed away. Loki shoved Niall's knife-wielding hand away before he ran towards us before he immediately moved behind Kirito.

"You little shit!" Niall growled out as he pulled the dagger out of his knee.

"Hey, watch your mouth!" I shouted as I readied my weapon. "We're around a child!"

"I don't care!" Niall reared his blade back. "You're all going to pay for that!"

And that's when the tips of three blades suddenly poked out his chest. Right behind him was Athena, who had a deathly glare on her face.

"No, they're not," she said in a grim tone. She then withdrew her claws and shoved Niall to the ground.

"Chalquin, Canus!" Kirito reminded quickly. With a nod, I quickly moved into the house to see Canus crumpled to the ground. I pulled out three of my special picks and threw them down on him. They embedded themselves into his body before they dissipated seconds later. He groaned slightly before he rolled onto his back. He then slowly raised himself into a seated position.

"…Loki…" he said in a raspy voice.

"He's good," I said. "Relax."

"He's okay?" I heard Athena ask from behind me. I looked over my shoulder at her.

"Yeah, he is," I replied with a nod. "Don't take this the wrong way, Sweetie, because I am grateful, but what are you doing here?"

"Asuna got worried," she explained. As she spoke, Loki rushed past her and towards Canus's side while Kirito just walked into the door. "So, I decided to track you guys. Well, really just you since _somebody_ still want to keep on putting on that fake loner act." After she said that, she looked over her shoulder at Kirito, causing him to chuckle slight in embarrassment.

"I… have my reasons," he said.

"Yeah, whatever." Athena gave him a dismissive wave. "Just make sure to let your girlfriend know you're okay so she can stop worrying about you."

There was a hitch in Kirito's breath as his eyes went wide. I smirked and held back a chuckle before sobering up.

"All joking aside, what are we going to do about them?" I asked.

"I thought the plan was to take these guys to Black Iron Prison," Athena replied in confusion.

"No, not the Laughing Coffin. _Them."_ I gestured towards Loki and Canus. The latter was groaning, yet nodding every single Loki asked if he was okay. "It won't be long until Laughing Coffin is hunting them."

"That is a problem," Kirito said as he stepped forward.

"We can house them at The KoB headquarters," Athena suggested. "No one would suspect them of being there, and even if they do, they won't be stupid enough to come for him." She tilted her head. "Of course, they'd have to unfriend every Laughing Coffin member on their list."

"Will Heathcliff be okay with that?" Kirito asked. "I know The Knights of The Blood have their rules."

"I'm pretty sure we can convince him not to leave a man and his, you know, _kid_ brother out to dry," I replied.

After teleporting the subdued Laughing Coffin members to Black Iron Prison, we ported Canus and Loki to Agil's shop, where they spent the night in the room upstairs. The morning after, Athena, Kirito, Asuna, and I met the two of them there and took them to The KoB Headquarters, where we briefed Heathcliff on everything. Surprisingly, Heathcliff easily accepted the idea – on the condition that two of them joined The KoB for the sake of keeping tabs on them.

"Well, that could have ended up worse," I said as I walked out with Athena.

"Yeah," Athena said. She then rolled her eyes. "I just wish I didn't have to bail you out. Is my Phantom Wolf King becoming unfit for the throne?"

"Oh hardy har har!" I bared my teeth as I squinted as I said that.

"I'm just saying, Love, you may be a step slow nowadays." As she said this, she put on a smile that would have made even the biggest troll cringe.

I didn't react to that, though. I smiled a bit. "…So I'm your love, huh?"

Athena blushed a bit as she closed her eyes. She then scoffed. "Well, you're okay, I guess."

"Oh really?" I replied, feigning offense as I placed my left hand on my chest. "I see how it is."

"Oh, don't be such a drama queen," Athena said with a scoff as she stepped forward. She put her arms around and pulled me into a hug.

"You're lucky you're endearing." I wrapped my arms around and hugged her back. We remained like that for several seconds. "…Thank you, Athena."

"You're welcome." She turned her head and kissed me on the cheek. She then pulled away and looked me in the eyes. At that moment, the world changed around us. With our faces mere inches apart, everything around me turned black except for her – Athena somehow became more vivid in my eyes. In fact, it was like all my senses were fixated on her. All I smelled was her scent, which was like this mixture of vanilla and fresh olive oil – a weird mix, I know, but it was her scent, and one that filled me with joy. I was even able to hear the faint sound of her breathing.

Only thing left was touch and taste.

We both brought our faces forward. We moved a bit quicker than usual, not wanting to be interrupted again. This time, our lips finally met. It took us a moment to find our rhythm – I never kissed anyone before. But we didn't care. If anything, it made the experience even more enjoyable. During this, we hugged each other tightly. In a moment I wasn't expecting, Athena slipped her tongue into my mouth. My eyes opened briefly in surprise. But once her tongue found mine, I moaned as I savored the taste of it. Wanting more, I moved my tongue with her. We could have stayed like that forever. Unfortunately, our need to breathe caused us to reluctantly break the kiss. As my breath went ragged, I placed my forehead against hers. I then smiled.

"Took us long enough, huh?" I huffed out.

"Yeah," Athena said with ragged breath. She then nuzzled the crook of my neck. "But it was well worth the wait."


	14. Chapter 14

I leaned back in my seat as I looked at both Matthew and Nancy. I was patiently waiting. As a matter of fact, I was patiently waiting the moment the recorded testimony started. Specifically, I was waiting to be asked the million dollar question.

"Here's the thing," Matthew said finally. "There's a question I want to ask you. Now, how you answer the question has no bearing on your acquittal. Everything that happened in Sword Art Online is under the jurisdiction of Japan's Ministry of Defense."

"Right," I said, nodding in understanding.

"However, how you answer this question may have bearing on what the state does with you," Matthew continued. "Personally, I think the fact that you haven't exhibited any violent behavior since you've exited the game should have been enough, but that's me. So, with that said, I have to ask – did you kill anyone in the game?"

I really wish I was able to say that I didn't. Unfortunately…

"…I killed about five or seven people," I said reluctantly, frown on my face. Matthew stifled a sigh. I knew he wanted me to say otherwise, but it was what it was.

"I see," he replied in an ambiguous tone.

"Look, I'm no murderer," I said somewhat defensively. "I wasn't looking to kill anyone. But my hand was forced. All of our hands were forced."

"…'Our'…" Matthew tilted his head. "So, these killings involved multiple people?"

"All of my killings happened in one event," I explained. "See, the Laughing Coffin members we captured were interrogated, and one of them finally talked. We found out where their hideout was." I shook my head. "We didn't want to kill anyone. Our intent was to capture them and detain them at Black Iron. And we managed to do that with a lot of them. However, some would much rather die than be captured."

88888888888

Once the information was gathered, a force of clearers led by Schmitt was on their way to the hideout. The hideout itself was a former boss room.

"Doesn't that piss you off a bit?" Lancer asked of that fact.

"I don't know how to feel about that," I replied.

The seven of us… The Killer Seven… walked together amongst the huge unit of 100 or so. It was probably the only thing keeping me from dry-heaving.

I was nervous. This was pretty much the first time I was in a position where I felt like my life was going to be in danger while facing somebody who wasn't a boss or an NPC. Plus, up to that point, I never killed anyone.

"Well, the quicker we deal with them, the quicker we can go back to focusing on clearing," Athena said as she walked with me. I sighed. "Chalquin, you okay?"

"I will be when this is over," I replied.

"I hear that," Lancer said with a chuckle. Athena, on the other hand, just gave me a look of concern.

"I'll be fine," I said, putting on a weak smile. I was speaking to myself as much as I was speaking to Athena.

"We will be," Athena said as she grabbed my hand and held it. "Just stick close to me."

"We're all just going to have to look out for each other," Klein said with a smile. His smile then faded. "Still, situation is kind of tense."

"Well, no one goes up against Laughing Coffin expecting a good time," Agil pointed. I remained silent, not wanting to bring up the subject anymore. For better or for worse, the chatter died down when we reached the doors of the room. Schmitt turned towards all of us gave a bit of a speech. I was barely paying attention – not that I needed to. It was pretty a hyped up version of the score.

We go in, subdue Laughing Coffin, and port them to Black Iron Prison. It sounded so simple. However, it was far from it.

I barely remembered walking in with the others. I was too busy making sure I remembered what my role was. I was to provide medical support. So, I had my shuriken equipped, with a lot of them imbued with potions and antidotes the night before.

Once we in the middle of the boss floor, we all readied our weapons. We all looked around, trying to spot them. As people started to wonder out loud if we received bad information, a group of 40 or so cloaked individuals started to jump down on it. It was supposed to be a surprise attack. However, we outnumbered by so much that as soon as they landed, we all ganged up on them. Athena and I stuck close together as we converged on one them. Athena had her new set of claws equipped – The Claws of The Nemean Lion. I myself drew a dagger. Our target tried to lunge for Athena with his sword. However, Athena moved to the side before bringing her claws around and slicing off his arm.

 _The Touch of Nemea,_ I thought to myself. As the man screamed out, I quickly moved behind him as I pulled a glowing pick. I threw it into his back. He dropped down to the ground, paralyzed.

"We just have to keep doing that," Athena said. I looked at her and nodded.

That was pretty much what we did. One of us would move in to disarm an assailant while the other one would subdue him or her. The only time we took a break in the routine was when someone would call for the medic. Things were going well as laughing coffin member dropped one after another.

However, things started to turn left.

I turned my head to the right to see a member of the Dragon Alliance fall to the ground with half of his head sliced off. My eyes went. I then reached for a pick, thinking I'd be able to revive him somehow. It was no use, however. He disappeared, shattering into tiny lights.

A second later, I felt something blunt hit the side of my head. I fell onto side as I grunted out in pain. I vision a little dark as I slowly moved onto my back. As I sat up, everything was moving in slow motion, and I could barely hear what was going on around me. The only thing I knew was that people were dying all around me. I slowly stood up… and just stood there, not knowing what to do.

And then…

"CHALQUIN!"

I snapped out of it. I knew that voice. It was Athena's. I quickly looked around until I saw her on the ground. She had both of her legs and one of her arms cut off. Surrounding her were three Laughing Coffin members. My eyes went wide, realizing that her life was in danger. Even with sounds of clanging metal and screams of agony around me filling the room, I could practically hear the demented sounds from their mouth. Seemingly slowly, I was starting to thaw as my mixture of fear and helplessness gave way to rage.

Thinking quickly, I opened up my menu and changed my gear. No longer was I wielding a dagger. Instead, I was wielding my ninjato – Wolf Fang. Once I drew it from its scabbard I ran forward. A few Laughing Coffin members moved into my path. One of them was immediately axed down by Agil. Another one made all of two steps into my direction when a spear went flying through his head. Briefly, just briefly, I allowed myself to smirk.

 _Good ol' Lancer._

I took one more step before I started running at my top speed. In a flash, I was behind one of the ones that surrounded Athena. I reared my sword back before I drove the tip of it through the man's chest. As he screamed out, I pulled the blade out, grabbed him by the collar, and threw him into the ground.

"Stay away from Athena!" I yelled out. Three of them merely laughed before they moved to converge on me.

On any other day, I would have just dodged then, scoop Athena up, and get out of dodge. However, I was angry. And all three of them lined up real nice. Without a second thought, I drew my blade back. Once I felt vibrate, I brought it around. There was a flash of black light before the three bodies fell to the ground without their heads. For a brief second, I was given pause by the fact that, for the first time ever, I killed someone. Actually, it wasn't just someone – it was three people. I shook it off as I moved to Athena's side.

"I guess I'm the one who is getting slow," Athena said with a laugh. She smiled wryly, even as tears rolled down her face.

"Just hold on, Sweetie," I said as I moved through my menu. I looked through my potions and selected a purple one. Once it materialized in my hand, I brought it up to her lips. "Drink."

With her lone hand, she grabbed my hand and started to drink from it. I kept my head on a swivel, keeping an eye out for danger. Out of my peripheral, I saw someone moved in, only to be cut down by Klein. Klein, along with members of his Fuurinkazen guild move around us.

"Do what you have to do!" Klein declared. "We got you!"

"You're a Godsend, you know that?" I replied graciously. I looked down at Athena, seeing her limbs slowly regenerate, minus the arm. Around us, I heard Klein and company clashing with other Laughing Coffin members trying to attack us. All the while, Athena kept her eyes on me, her hand tightening a bit around mine. I gave her a sympathetic smile before I brought my lips down upon her forehead.

Finally, she finished off the potion. Her limbs were back. After taking a deep breath, she stood up and re-equipped her claws.

"Let's finish this!" she said. I nodded.

We stood at each other's side, fighting alongside Furrinakazen until the end. We did everything we could not kill anyone else, but even that turned out to be a lost cause. The two of us cut down any person who was Laughing Coffin. I wasn't sure if I killed two more people or four more. But by the time it was over, we lost 15 clearers. Twenty Laughing Coffin members were killed, and the rest were captured… except for one – their leader.

As the rest were being hauled off, I sat down cross-legged, Wolf Fang sheathed as I stared off in the distance. Inside of my head, I was trying to justify myself.

 _They had it coming,_ I said to myself. They were going around killing people – anybody if the price was right. _You saw it yourself. One of them was going to kill a child right in front of your eyes if he took the opportunity._ Canus and Loki popped into my head. _They even killed some of your allies were going to kill Athena. Screw them, okay?_

Yeah, screw them. They were scum, as far as I was concerned. They pushed us. We merely pushed back. We did what we had to do.

…Right?


	15. Chapter 15

"So how did you feel after that event?" Matthew asked.

It took me a moment to answer. I was slightly zoned out as memories of that day bubbled up. After realizing that my attorney was asking me a question, I turned my eyes toward him. My eyes felt slightly dead. They probably looked that way, if the slight rise in his eyebrows was of any indication.

"I felt horrible," I said in a somewhat low tone. "I almost quit as a Clearer. I went days at a time without sleeping. That's because, when I did sleep, I'd have nightmares about that day. It haunted me for a few months, and I almost got killed twice on a Boss raid because of it. I avoided that whole entire floor for that time. And in all honesty, I felt like the most horrible person."

"Did you try to seek help?"

"Help… no I didn't try to find help… at least, not at first."

"How come?" Matthew asked this with a bit of concern in voice.

"Because, at the time, I didn't know who to really turn to… or, rather, I did… I just didn't want to burden my friends. I felt like they already had more important stuff to worry about." I allowed myself to smile. "But turns out, they didn't feel that way."

88888888888

I sat on my bed, just looking off into the distance. I was going through another spell of sleeplessness. Honestly, I didn't even want to go to sleep. It was pointless. When I'm awake, I have memories of that day. When I sleep, I have nightmares about that day. It didn't matter what I did. It also didn't help that I didn't have much to do. Heathcliff suspended me from the Frontlines until I got my head together, and Agil paid me to basically stay home and relax. I'd get messages from Athena as she tried to see if I was okay. She wanted to see me, but she felt it was best to give me some space ("It's not a break-up or 'break'!" she assured). Just as well – I really didn't want to be around anyone.

I was an idiot.

I was taken out of my thoughts when I heard a knock on the door. I turned my head towards the door and looked at it, not sure if I wanted to answer it. Whoever was at the door knocked again.

"Chalquin, open up!" a familiar voice said. "It's me, Lancer!"

I stared at the door for a few more moments. I looked down at my clothes, checking to see if I was decent. Reluctantly, I stood up and walked over to the door before I opened it slowly. Lancer smiled at me.

"Hey man, I haven't seen you in a while."

I briefly raised my eyebrows before I stepped aside, allowing him to enter.

"Everyone is asking about you," Lancer said as he walked in. I closed the door before I looked over at him. "Don't get me wrong, we're still putting in work, but it's not the same without The Phantom Wolf King out there howling." I pressed my lips together as I grimaced. He walked over to the sitting area and took a seat on one of the sofas. "How are you holding up?"

I opened my mouth to say I was okay, but then closed. After shaking my head, I walked over to the sofa opposite him and took a seat.

"I think we both know the answer to that," I replied.

"I take it you never took a life before."

"No, I haven't. Turns out, the school I went to frowns upon pushing Career Killer as a life choice." I glared at him.

He chuckled. "I'm sorry, stupid question." He leaned back in his seat as his smile faded. "Look, I just wanted to make sure that you were still alive. I know I was pretty torn up about killing a few people during that day."

"You got your hands dirty, too?" I asked, mildly curious.

"All seven of us did," Lancer said with a brief raise of his eyebrows. "I guess we really are the Killer Seven now."

"…Well crap…" I sighed as I looked off to the side. I remained quiet for some moments. I turned my eyes back to him. "…I'm having nightmares about that day, man. Bad nightmares. So bad that I'm going days without sleeping."

"I figured as such," Lancer said with a sympathetic smile. "Your eyes are looking pretty red. Are you at least doing anything to keep yourself busy?"

"Nothing, man. I'm off the Frontlines, Agil has me on paid vacay, and I haven't seen Athena in a couple of weeks. Not that I blame her – she knows when I don't want to be around anyone." I scoffed slightly. "I really wish she had one of her stubborn streaks and stand by me, though."

"Well, not that I think you suspect otherwise, but she's staying loyal to you," Lancer said with a reassuring tone. "She wears your wolf pelt, you know."

 _I guess that's the Aincrad version of the hoodie,_ I thought to myself, allowing a small, brief smile to grace my face.

We remained silent for a few moments. Lancer then sighed as he looked up at the ceiling.

"I really wish I had my stash with me now," he said.

I tilted my head. "Stash?"

"Of marijuana," he said simply. He straightened his head and looked at me. "You partake?"

"Nah," I said with a shake of my head. "No judgement on my part. It's just not my thing."

"Yeah, it's not for everyone. I honestly, I don't even do it often – I tend go weeks, even months between joints. But, every now and again, I find myself in situations where I really need to take the edge off." At that, I chortled.

"Man, you probably would have smoked through your stash in the first week, then," I commented.

"You… are probably right, my friend," Lancer replied with a laugh. He then tilted his head as he looked at me. "You doing anything today?"

"Other than a staring contest with a wall? Not a dang thing."

"Let's hang out, man."

I sighed as I leaned forward, ready to stand up. "Nah, I'm good."

"Come on! Have you even stepped out of this condo?"

I opened my mouth to say something, then closed it. I thought about his question. Did I step out the house? …No, I haven't.

"You took too long," Lancer continued as he leaned forward. "Look man – you said you don't do marijuana. I respect that – I'm never the type of person who pushes weed on anyone. And even if I was, I doubt that there's anything that passes for weed in Aincrad. With that said, though… I'm going to get you high. Because it's a Friday, you're in a funk - albeit for understandable reasons, and there's nothing else to do."

"…" I remained quiet for a few moments. I then pulled up my menu. "Let me get changed."

The first thing we did was hit up a circus. It was on the 50th Floor, so we didn't do much in the way of travelling. The guild who put on the event – The Tented Collective – was one of the more well-known entertainment guilds. They owned buildings on different floors, with each building used as a performing space. I guess it made sense – I didn't think there was much in the way of transporting large items such as a huge tent. And if there was, buying buildings would have been a lot safer.

Lancer and I sat in one of the rows of bleachers as we watched the performance. It was quite the spectacle. At one of the beast tamers commanded a wolf to jump through a fiery ring. At another point, a clown put on a magic show. And then there were the story tellers, who reenacted past events in Aincrad, albeit to the point where the events were both sensationalized and parodied.

So, of course, The Killer Seven was parodied. "Agil" was seen toppling a great beast… only because it wasn't on time with payments. "Kirito" and "Asuna" were denying the fact that they were a couple… between long kisses as they made out. "Klein" was surviving disaster after disaster, including the meteor that killed off the dinosaurs. "Lancer" was seen punching out Richard III (as in the Shakespearean character) because he tried to rob him for a horse. "Athena" came out… only to say that she wasn't going to do the parody since she preferred her head connected to her body. And there was my parody, who howled before disappearing in a puff smoke, only to reappear and throw knives at moving targets.

For the first time in a long while, I laughed. I legitimately laughed.

"That was a great show," I said, snacking on an apple as I walked with Lancer.

"It was pretty funny," Lancer said in concurrence.

We were standing outside of the tent. At Lancer's suggestion, we waited for the performers to come out. Each time they did, we, along with the rest of the people stayed around, would cheer them on.

"It says a lot about our rep, no?" Lancer continued as he chuckled. "They even got Kirito and Asuna's relationship down.

"I mean, Kirito and Asuna were crushing so hard on each other, they could be main characters in an anime," I replied.

At that, Lancer scoffed. "You mean like the ones where the feelings are so obvious, yet we'd have wait until like the last freaking episode for them to at least finally admit it?"

"If they even admit it at all." We both had a laugh at that.

"Um…excuse me," someone said, catching our attention. We looked ahead and saw a girl standing in front of us. On her head was a small sleeping dragon. She was wearing a red dress, with a dagger sheathed at her hip. Most notably, she had a small dragon on top her head, which was currently sleeping.

"Hi," I said. I recognized her as one of the performers. "Hey, aren't you Silica?"

"Yes, I am," she said with a smile and a bow. "…You guys… you're Lancer and Chalquin, right?"

"We are," Lancer confirmed. "Are we that recognizable even out of our gear?"

"You are." Silica chuckled a bit. "I'm actually here to thank you."

"For coming?" I asked. I then shook my head. "Silica, we should be thanking you for being part of a wonderful show."

"Not for that," Silica replied. She blushed slightly. "Though your kind words are appreciated. No, I wanted to thank you two for a long while."

"I'd like to say you're welcome, but I'm not sure what we've done to help," Lancer said with a look of confusion. Silica looked up at us and blinked a few times.

"You two are the ones who helped Athena, no?"

It took us a moment. And then I got a flashback to that night.

"…Wait… you're the Beast Tamer that…" I coughed as I looked off to the side. "…you know…"

"Unfortunately, yes," she said, looking down at the ground.

"Um… Silica… if you don't mind me asking… how are you?"

"…I just turned 14 a few months ago. Why?"

I remained silent as my eyes went dead. For a moment… just for a moment… I considered reaching for a Teleport crystal to take a trip to Black Iron prison. I took in a breath and blinked a few times.

"We're just glad that we got to the creeps when we did," Lancer said.

"And I'm happy for it. If it wasn't me it would have been something else. Speaking of Athena, is it true, Chalquin? That you and her… you know."

"Yes," I said with a small smile. "She's my other half."

"That's good." Silica then chuckled. "She speaks highly of you, you know." At that I blushed. Before I could put on a smitten smile, a dialogue box came up. "Until the next time, guys."

Seeing that it was a friend request, I smiled and accepted. "Until the next time."

From there, we hit up a bar on the 55th Floor. While there, we were watching a duel take place there. It was pretty intense, with neither guy giving an inch. Finally, the man with the fencing sabre managed to disarm the longsword user before landing a decisive hit. The crowd was a mix of cheers and boos, most of it a reaction to the bets that were placed. All the while, Lancer and I looked on, mugs of beer in our hands.

"Any other duels for the night?" one person called out.

"I have one, if The Phantom Wolf King would be up for the challenge," I heard a voice said. I was in mid-sip when I heard it, causing me to spit out my drink. I looked towards the direction of the voice, seeing the crowd part as Athena stepped forward. My eyes widened as I watched, clad in her white and red armor. Over it, though, was a grey wolf pelt. The crowd murmured amongst themselves as she walked up to me.

"How are you, Chalquin?" she asked.

"I'm… stable," I said. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Is it now?" she said as she placed her hand on my cheek. I felt my face warm up. It got even warmer when she placed a kiss on my cheek.

"Um, should I give you two some room?" Lancer asked.

"No," Athena said. "Wouldn't want you to miss this fight."

"…Wait, you're serious?" I said, tilting my head.

"As a heart attack." She stepped backward and pulled up a menu. Some seconds later, a box appeared in front of me. "Just a friendly duel – hand-to-hand only. What say you?"

"…Fine. But loser has to buy dinner the next time we're out on a date," I said.

"Deal," Athena said with a chuckle.

I accepted the duel. The two of then moved into the middle of the tavern as the crowd cheered. Athena changed into one of her casual outfits – black shorts with an olive shirt. Curiously, she wore no shoes. I cracked my neck before I moved into a square Muay Thai stance. Athena, for her part, was in a Taekwondo stance.

The only reason why I knew about the stances was because there was a comprehensive guide written by some of the people who managed to max out their Martial Arts skill. Said guide was distributed a while back.

The Martial Arts skilled had many a technique from different areas of fighting styles and systems from around the world. Because of that, it allowed people to adjust their style to the way they saw fit – and not just in hand-to-hand fighting. Quite a few swordsmen, including Kirito, use the skill to supplement their sword skills since there are quite a few martial art disciplines that involved weapon use, swords included.

We stood across from one another, eye contact locked in. The clocked count down. Once it hit zero, we both rushed forward. I brought my left foot forward, feinting a kick. However, as she moved back, I planted that same foot and jumped forward, right fist charged up as I sent it towards her. However, she ducked it and moved behind me. As soon I turned around, I was immediately met with a roundhouse kick that made me do a 180. I took a step forward as I held my face. I then looked over my shoulder to see her rushing in. I quickly turned around, trying to send a back fist towards her face. However, she quickly caught it, turned around, and flipped me on to my back. Frustrated, I quickly stood, ready to go again. However, Athena merely held her hand out and placed it on my cheek.

"That's enough," she said with finality. "You're not at your best."

I opened my mouth to retort, but closed it. Athena was right. We had matches against each other before, albeit away from the eyes of spectators. She was the better hand-to-hand fighter, but I could have put on a better fight then this. So, sighing to myself, I raised my right hand.

"I concede," I said reluctantly. There was another mix of cheers and boos. Athena gave me a sympathetic smile before leaning forward and placing a kiss on my forehead.

As the crowd went back to doing what they were doing, Lancer walked up to me and lightly punched me on the shoulder.

"Next time, Wolf King," he said with a chuckle. I scoffed as I shook my head.

"I guess I've grown rusty," I said.

"We'll have time to oil up later," Athena said with a smirk. "But for now… Lancer, do you mind if I take Chalquin off of your hands."

"You're his woman," Lancer replied. "I'll catch you later on, Chalquin."

"Alright – you be good, bro."

He smiled and nodded before he made his way out of the bar. I watched him as she left. I then turned my head towards my hand when I felt Athena gently grab it. I look at Athena, who pulled out a teleport crystal.

"We're going to stop at home for a bit," she said.

When we teleported, I expected to appear in the countryside. At the time, Athena was living in the house that The Knights of The Blood used as a base prior to them acquiring their current headquarters. It was a cozy place in a rather quiet area, and it was pretty cheap, especially when Athena convinced Heathcliff to give him a "KoB discount".

Instead, I ended up in Selmburg

Selmburg was a beautiful castle city that sat in a mountainous island, which was in the middle of this rather huge lake. There was a lot of foliage and the sunset was nice. Nothing against Granzam or anything, but I could definitely see why Asuna preferred living in Selmburg.

Yeah, Asuna lived there. She had a pretty nice house there – which was to be expected, considering the average price per home was in the millions. I've been there quite a few times, mostly to hang out with Asuna and Kirito – especially because Asuna's house was one of the few places one could consistently find Kirito when he was out on the frontlines.

We stopped in front of the house, which didn't look much different from Asuna's on the outside, except that it was mostly white with blue trims.

"When did you move?" I asked, taking in the sight of the home.

"I didn't," Athena said. "I still have my old home." I turned my head towards her.

"But this is your home, isn't it?"

"This isn't my home." She pulled up a menu and went through it. After tapping a few options, a notification appeared in front of me. "This is our house."

"…Wait, you're serious?" I said, eyes going wide.

"Extremely, Chalquin." She looked over at me and smiled. "I wanted to get a place with you for a while now. I just figured today would be the best day."

"Today?" I tilted my head in confusion. "What's so special about today?"

At that, Athena chuckled. "You really did forget about that day, huh?"

With those words said, she grabbed me by the hand and pulled me towards the door. She then opened the door tugged me in. I made it all of four steps past the threshold when…

"SURPRISE!"

I stopped my tracks, eyes wide open. Standing in front of us was the rest of the Killer Seven, along with some other people – Canus and Loki, Lisbeth (a blacksmith we frequented on Kirito's advice), Silica, the rest of Fuurinkazen, and even Schmitt. There was a birthday banner hanging from the ceiling and I

"Happy Birthday, Chalquin," Agil said as he stepped up to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. My jaws dropped. Honestly, I actually forgot that birthdays were a thing.

"Ah man," I whispered out. Once it sunk in, the only thing I could do was put on a goofy smile. "Thanks guys."

We spent most of the time dancing to music and chatting about the good times we managed to have in the death game. Asuna even cooked the food and the cake – and it was easily the best meal I had, even to this very day (don't tell my mom). I was halfway through asking Asuna why she didn't open up a restaurant or café of sorts, but I changed the subject as soon as Kirito gave me a pointed glare.

Yeah, I wasn't going to push the issue.

At the end of the party, I received several gifts – all of them gear. All of it was extremely helpful… and expensive. I couldn't help but be a bit touched. There were two gifts and particular that really stood out, given to me by Athena. She waited until the party was over and we were alone when she gave me a huge box.

"What is it?" I asked as I sat on the bed with Athena in our bedroom.

"Open it and find out," Athena said. I smiled as I did just that. Inside the box laid two items – one was a piece of leather armor, which was a brownish gray. Next to it was a wolf pelt. This one was different from the one I usually wore. The fur of it was jet black, and the eyes of it were red. Slowly, I reached into the box and lifted it up. I stared into the eye of the creature for a bit. I then slowly shook my head in awe – this wolf was different from every one I've come across so far.

"These two items came from a two quests," Athena explained as she leaned into me. "The leather armor used to be the hide of this lion like creature – The Scourge of Nemea it was called. It was hard to take down. I needed the help of Agil and Lancer. Once I we did take it down, I took the pelt and took it to Ashley."

"…Wow…" I whispered out as I looked towards her.

So yeah, Ashely was a tailor that had a shop that was literally some houses away from Lisbeth's. She dealt with apparel and armor. She was the first (and, as far as I know, only) person to have a max tailoring skill. Also, she was very, VERY particular about undertaking a job – you had to bring materials to her that she'd find interesting. And since she charged a million Cor per item crafted, she made more than enough money to hold her over during the slow weeks.

"And this wolf pelt?" I asked.

"The Knights of The Blood raided a hideout," she said. "Some people tried to start up another player-killing guild to try and fill the void left by the taking down of Laughing Coffin, but we nipped that in the bud once we got word. One of the players had this wolf pelt. Agil appraised it and found out it was worth a lot. Plus it has some kind of ability attached to it."

"What kind?"

"I don't know, to be honest," Athena said with a shrug. "The only thing anyone knows that it's called The Reaper's Grace."

"…Interesting." I pulled up my menu and went about acquiring the items. Once they were in my inventory, I turned towards Athena and pulled her into a hug. As I held her I smiled against her cheek. "Thank you, Love."

"Anything for my Wolf King," she replied as she hugged me back.

I wish I could I say everything was all gumdrops and rainbows for the rest of the night. But it wasn't.

We eventually went to bed. For the first time ever, I shared a bed with her. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to keep the nightmares away. Once more, that day haunted me. Probably the worst of them was the one where I was back in prison. The only difference was, I was surrounded and taunted by the people I killed. That nightmare was on loop before I heard Athena's voice urgently telling me to wake up.

Once I did, I quickly sat up, my heart beating so hard in my chest that I could hear it in my ears. My face was covered with sweat and my eyes were so wide, it was a wonder they didn't pop out of their sockets. I then felt two arms around and a body pressing against my back. I tensed for a bit before I heard Athena's voice in my ear.

"Relax, Sweetie," she whispered. "It's just me." I tried to relax, but I still felt a bit tense. And my ragged breathing wasn't helping. "Breathe, Chalquin. Breathe." I nodded as I focused on my breathing. "Nice and slow." I closed my eyes. I took in a breath slowly, held for a second, and released it. I did that over and over again until I no longer heard my heartbeat in my ears. Slowly, I leaned back against Athena, who bowed her head forward and kissed my temple.

"Are you okay now?" Athena asked. I scoffed bitterly.

"I don't think I'm going to be okay for a while, Love," I said. "I'm still shook over that day."

"I don't blame you." She rested her chin on my shoulder, her cheek rest against mine. As she did, I remembered the night where we subdued the group that were going to rape her. Specifically, I remembered the time she beheaded one of them with a single punch.

"How do you do it?" I asked.

"Do what?" she replied.

"Be okay with killing someone?" She pulled away a bit and turned her face towards me. I turned my head and faced her. "I don't mean to be judgmental. I just really want to know."

"…I'm not," she said quietly. "Like I told you, I'm good at hiding. And I don't mean the game stat. When I'm out there, I put on a brave face – just enough to go about doing what I have to do. But once I'm home, I'm practically bedbound. All I do lie in bed and look up at the ceiling, trying my very best not to think about some atrocity I did. The only thing keeping me stable is the fact those atrocities were against some very horrible people. And even then…" She trailed off. Once more, she put arms around me as she held me from behind. I held one of her arms with my right hand. We remained there for several seconds. She then let loose a sound that sounded like both a sob and a scoff.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"…I really comfort you, but I can't," she replied.

"Hey, I'm happy for your company," I said reassuringly. She chuckled again.

"No, Chalquin. I want to… comfort you."

It took me a few seconds to realize what she meant. And then my eyebrows rose.

"….Oooooh…."

I felt her shake her head. "Well, we're going to do the next best thing. On your back."

We kissed each other. I don't know how long, but by the time we were done, my lips were sore. My mouth was sore. Even my tongue was sore – I didn't even think such a thing was possible.

After that, I remained on my back as I held Athena, who was laying on me with the side of her head on my chest.

"…When we see each other in the real world, you're mine," Athena declared.

"Yes ma'am," I said with a smile. "…I love you, Athena."

"I love you, too, Chalquin."

For the first time in a long while, I managed to sleep in peace.


	16. Chapter 16

"So, what happened after that?" Matthew asked.

I shook my head slowly. "Nothing too major happened… at least, not until… you know. I took some time to get back into the swing of things. By the time I was ready for the upcoming boss, Kirito – with help from Asuna and The Fuurinkazen Guild – took care of the boss. So, basically, for a while, it was the quiet before the storm." I then paused. "Well, I wouldn't say it's totally calm."

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Well, maybe saying "nothing too major" was a bit… inaccurate. There were a couple of major things that happened since Kirito took down Gleam Eyes.

Kirito did finally become a part of The Knights of The Blood… after being bested by Heathcliff in a duel. It was a high-profile duel - so high-profile that The Knights of The Blood decided to make it a whole card of duels. And Daizen decided it'd be more profitable if two of the Killer Seven – namely Athena and I – fought each other in the pre-main event. Begrudgingly, we did. In the end, I very, VERY, narrowly won. And that was just because time ran out right before what would have been the finishing blow. Neither of us felt like a winner after that. Both of us were in a sour mood as we sat in the crowd and watched the fight between Kirito and Heathcliff.

That fight… it started to give me a very bad vibe.

See, Heathcliff sported some very heavy armor, along with a shield and one-handed straight sword. Really, he shouldn't have been as fast as he was. But there he was, not only keeping up with Kirito, but slightly surpassing him. And he was switching back and forth from offense to defense without any trouble, even using his shield to attack at one point. I thought Kirito – especially with his unique ability to wield two swords at the same time – would have defeated him, but Heathcliff won in the end. There was one point where Heathcliff managed to dodge what would have been a finishing blow had it been anyone else in his place.

I wanted to be glad that Kirito was finally a part of the KoB, but not like this.

"You think Kirito is okay?" Lancer asked as we slowly walked up the steps of Agil's shop.

"He'll get over it… eventually," I said. I then smirked. "Especially when he realizes he can spend more time with Asuna."

As we reached the top floor, Lancer smirked. "I think you may be right," he whispered.

We stopped in our tracks when we saw Kirito and Asuna. The latter held the former's head against her stomach. We watched them for some seconds. I then brought my fist to my mouth and cleared my throat loudly. The two of them slowly pulled apart and looked at us. The two of them were blushing a bit, but they weren't quick to cover up and explain away what Lancer and I saw.

"Hey," I said, smiling a bit. "We came to see if you two were okay after… you know."

"We're fine, Chalquin," Asuna said. She looked at Kirito, who looked back at her. They both smiled. "We're more than fine."

"…Wait," Lancer said with a smile. "Does that mean that you two are…?"

"…Yes," Kirito said as the two of them looked back at us.

"About freaking time," I said as Kirito stood up. I walked up to him, then stopped in my tracks as I took in his outfit. "The heck is this?" I gently grabbed his sleeve. He was wearing a red and white version of his normal attire.

"I'm a Knight of The Blood," he said with a dejected sigh. "So, I have to wear the colors."

"…That doesn't look right," Lancer said with a shake of his head.

"I'd thought you two would be happy that he's finally part of The Knights of The Blood," Asuna mused.

"Not if it means messing up his fit," I said as I released his sleeve.

"Well, look on the bright side," Lancer said. "You two can be around each other even more."

Before any of them could respond, a dialogue box appeared in front of them. Asuna looked at hers, then sighed.

"We have to go," Asuna said. "We have to report to the headquarters."

"Alright," I said with a nod. "We'll see you around."

And we did see them – one week later.

At a wedding.

Turns out, when they left us to meet at the KoB Headquarters, Kirito was put on a team-building exercise with Kuradeel and Godfree, the latter leading the exercise.

I didn't know Godree that well. Despite the fact that we were part of the same guild, we didn't interact that much outside of official meetings. I do know he was quite the warrior and a decent fellow, as he usually kept a warm disposition, and was big on teamwork. As such, he was trying to get Kuradeel and Kirito to iron out their differences.

However, Kuradeel had other ideas. I don't know for how long, but Kuradeel was secretly a member of Laughing Coffin. After paralyzing both Kuradeel and Godfree by spiking their drinks with a potion, he killed the latter and almost killed the former. However, Asuna, using her godly speed and her tracker (she was the only person that was partied up Kirito prior to Kuradeel and Godfree), she was able to catch up to them before Kuradeel could finish the deed.

Officially, Kirito was able to use his unarmed skill to kill Kuradeel after the potion wore off in time. However, in reality, it was Asuna who killed him by way of her rapier. We only talked about the "official" version of events because Heathcliff figured the rest of the guild would feel some type of way about a high-ranking KoB member killing their own subordinates, Laughing Coffin or not.

Well, anyway, they decided to marry. In function, marrying was a simple action that would take only a little bit of going through the menu options. However, they treated it like was a thing. The ceremony was held in a field outside of Coral on the 22nd Floor, as well as the reception. There was a music guild and everything. Honestly, it was a great time.

…For the most part.

"They really do love each other, huh?" Lancer said. Lancer was standing next to me and Athena, sipping on a beer. Athena was with me, holding my hand as the three of us watched Kirito and Asuna dance from afar.

"To be honest, it wouldn't surprise me if they are wishing this was a legal marriage," I said response. From my peripheral, I saw Athena nod as she chuckled. And then…

"ATHENA!"

Athena turned her head to the left. She then sighed and muttered a few unsavory words underneath her breath. During this, a group of three women started to approach her.

"Friends of yours?" I asked.

"Unfortunately," Athena said with a sigh. "They wanted to meet you for a while. …I really didn't want them to."

"Embarrassed of me?" Even though I said it in jest, there was a part of me that wondered if she did.

"No… I'm embarrassed of them."

After that, she put on a slight smile as they approached. One of them stood a few inches shorter than me, sporting red hair and green eyes. Another one sported black hair and black eyes, was a lot more on the short side – about 5'1" if I could venture a guess. Then there was one with brown hair. All three of them wore simple white dresses.

"So this is the Chalquin we keep hearing about," the one with red hair asked.

"Yes," Athena said. "Um, Chalquin, this is Asuka. The short one is Sakura…"

"…Really? That's what I am now?"

"…and the quiet one is Lin."

"Pleased to meet all three of you guys," I said. I then heard the clearing of the voice behind me. We all looked back at Lancer, who gave us a look. "Oh, and this is Lancer, fellow KoB member, and quite the horse rider."

"And single," he added with a smile.

The six of us chatted for a bit, getting to know each other as we did. I then turned to Athena and spoke in English.

"They don't seem too bad," I said.

"Uh… Chalquin… can I ask you a personal question?" Asuka said.

"…Sure…"

"Is it true that people like you are… bigger?"

As she asked this question, she held her hands a foot apart.

…Yeah, that happened.

Lancer eyes went a bit wide when they said that. He looked at me, then at them, practically floored by the fact that they would ask me such a thing. As for me, there was only word I could honestly say at that moment.

"…Bruh…"

From my peripheral, I saw Athena go red.

We decided to take our leave, but not before Athena pulled the three of them aside and threatened to use their rectums as sheathes for her sword if they ever asked me questions like that again. Lancer, decided to go back to the KoB headquarters, Athena and I went home.

"…Now I see why you're embarrassed of them," I said as I lay down in my bed.

"They're not bad people," Athena said as she lay next to me. "Unfortunately, sometimes they are rather… tone-deaf… about certain things."

I scoffed slightly. "Clearly."

Athena chuckled at that. "Hey, Chalquin. Mind if I asked you something?"

"…" I turned my head towards her and raised an eyebrow.

"I promise you it's nothing like that," Athena said reassuringly with a chuckle. She rolled over until she was on top of me. She laced her fingers together after sliding them across my chest and rested her chin on top of her hands. "…It's something I wanted to ask for a while. What is your real name?"

"My real name," I repeated, eyebrows raised. I then lowered. "My real name is Quinton Adarius Chalmers… Yours?"

"Suzuna Togano," Athena said.

I smiled. "A beautiful name for a beautiful person."

She blushed as she smirked. "Neither your name nor yourself are too shabby, you know."

I closed my eyes briefly as I smiled. I then placed my right hand on her cheek. "Now I know who to look for when we get out of this game and I get out of jail."

"Just know that I won't forget my promise," she said. She then brought her head forward placed a small kiss on my lips. I smiled as I kissed her back.

We spent the next hour or so just talking about the things happened during the week. When the subject of Kuradeel came up, Athena couldn't help but say 'I told you so'. It was a pretty chill time, and it made me longed for the time when I would be out of this game. Granted, I'd still be spending a little bit more time behind bars, but Suzuna... Athena… or whatever she wanted to call herself… was well worth the wait.

And then…

"Marry me," Athena said. My eyebrows rose as my mouth became ajar. Athena chuckled. "Not in a romantic sense, but for pragmatic reasons. We do keep quite a bit of back-up weapons, after all."

"That we do," I said. I nodded. "Let's do it."

The following day, it was back to business. I grinded, I reported to the KoB meetiings, I did some work with Agil. It was par the course. However, that changed after a couple of weeks.

I was back in the headquarters, having a light spar of sorts with Athena. As we moved at half-speed, with Athena giving me a pointer here and there, everything seemed so calm. That was when Lancer burst into the room.

"Heathcliff wants to see us ASAP," Lancer said in a terse manner. I raised an eyebrow.

"What's up, Lancer?"

"It's about the scout team."

"Did they get the info on the boss?" Athena asked as she went about equipping her KoB armor.

"…We don't know. We won't ever know. …The crew got wiped out."


	17. Chapter 17

I felt as if the testimony was coming close to the end. There was only a few questions I could think of that Matthew would ask me.

As I sat there, looking off to the side as memories started to come back to me, Nancy was pouring me another glass of water. Once she was done, she laid the pitcher down and pushed the glass towards me. I took the glass of water in my hands, muttered a quiet "thank you", and took a long swig from it, just realizing how thirsty I was.

"So, you guys were on the 75th Floor," Matthew said. "Is this where The Incident took place?"

"Yeah, it was," I said after setting the glass down on the table. "It was also the last floor that was cleared before everyone was logged off."

"For our understanding, as well as the understanding of the parties that will be viewing this testimony, will you reiterate how many floors were in the game?"

"One hundred."

"So, that means you guys cleared the game 25 floors early, correct?"

"If you want to call that 'cleared', then sure." I raised my eyebrows briefly. "No one knew that it was going to be the last floor. The only thing we knew at the time was that we were about to do battle with a boss that he had absolutely no information on. We were scared at the time."

88888888888

"Hey Asuna," I said as I stepped in through the door of Asuna's Selmburg house with Athena. "Sorry we're late – Athena insisted that I buy some dinner clothes."

"No worries," Asuna said with a smile. "Dinner is about to be ready. Please, join the rest of the party."

"We shall," Athena said. She grabbed my hand and led me to the dining room table. Already there was Kirito (of course), Klein, Lancer, and Agil. It was just a dinner for the Killer Seven. Asuna insisted that the seven of us took time have a dinner together before the boss battle. Athena and I didn't say anything, but we all knew the reason behind it.

She knew there was a good chance that we all wouldn't make it through the battle, and wanted one last good memory cherish just in case.

It was pretty morbid. But I can't say I blamed her.

"Chalquin," Agil said with a smile as he stood up. I smiled as I walked up to him. The two of us shared a fist bump.

"I see you decided to dress fancy," Klein said with a smile.

"What can I say, my better half wants me to look nice for dinner," I replied as I took my seat.

"And don't you forget it," Athena added as she took a seat next to me.

"I can't say I blame her," Lancer said. "No offense dude, but before her, you always dressed like you're step away from a battle."

Athena chortled a bit. "That's what I told him on our first date."

"Ah, the first date," Asuna said as she walked over with a stack of plates. Kirito stood up and moved to her side before taking half a stack himself. "I remember you mentioning a first date, but you never told me the details."

"I would have, but you kept irking me with your 'Kirito and I are just friends' shtick." Asuna gave Athena a slight glare as she and Kirito went about setting the plates.

"…Was it that bad?" Kirito asked simply.

"YES!" everyone else (sans Asuna and Agil) replied.

"It was a huge elephant in the room for a long while," Agil added quietly, albeit with a knowing smirk.

Asuna's eyebrow twitched as she set down Athena's plate. With a smiling glare, she tilted her head. "Well, perhaps you can give me the details now that Kirito and I are betrothed."

"Well, if you must know…" Athena leaned back in her seat. "Ever since the morning after… that night… I found myself thinking of Chalquin a lot. Maybe it was because how he fought when took down those pigs. Or maybe because of the praise he heaped on me. But, he got my curiosity. So, one night, when I got home from a quest, I got this message from Chalquin asking me out on a date."

"Straight like that, Chalquin?" Lancer asked.

"I mean… I wasn't explicitly asking her out on a date," I started slowly. "…But one could read between the lines."

"So, we met up at Coral," Athena continued. "First thing we did was going shopping for his clothes. And then, we hung out by the lake, took a stroll through a forest, and had dinner together."

"Are you sure that's all you did?" Klein asked, quickly and repeatedly raising his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. I gave him a halfhearted glare.

"That's all we did," Athena said. "Chalquin was a perfect gentleman. We didn't even have our first kiss until weeks later."

"Granted, it… partially… wasn't from a lack of trying," I said. "Just whenever we were about to kiss, something always happened. It was like I was in a high school sitcom."

"I know that feeling all too well," Agil said with a thoughtful nod. "It was the same way with my wife and I."

"Wait… you have a wife?" Klein exclaimed with wide eyes. Asuna and Athena looked at him with wide eyes as well.

"I thought everyone knew."

"I don't you think talk about her much," I replied.

"I don't?" Agil tilted his head as he looked off to the side. "Strange. I do think about her a lot."

"I think a lot of people in your position would," Lancer.

We all went silent for a moment. And then…

"…So, are you going to tell us about your wife or…?" Athena began.

"…Sweetie…" I said, giving her the side-eye.

"It's fine, Chalquin," Agil said with an easygoing smile. He then leaned back in her seat. "Her name is Kathy. She was a foreigner who caught my eye when she patronize the bar I opened up. We shared interests – gaming, drinks, and food, amongst other things. She became a regular. And eventually we started dating. After a couple of years, we married."

"…That sounds romantic!" Asuna said with a squee. Kirito looked at her with a smile of amusement.

"Man…" Lancer shook his head. "I'm over here worrying about if I have a job when I get out of this game, and you have a wife that's probably worried sick about you."

"Now a part of me wishes you weren't in this game," Athena said with a sympathetic smile.

"I do too, at times. But then I remember that my wife and I both have a personal NerveGear. If I wasn't in this game now, then chances she would have been in it instead. And I don't know how I would have handled that."

"Good point," I said with a nod. A part of me did wonder how things would have changed. Would if I met Agil's wife? Would she have lasted as long as he did? Would she have been a part of the Killer Seven? Who knew?

I was taken out of my thoughts by a 'ding' sound. Clapping her hands together, Asuna smiled.

"Dinner is ready!"

We ate to our hearts' content. During this, we talked mostly about Kirito and Asuna's honeymoon in Coral – including a tale about how they ended up an AI for a daughter named Yui.

So, turns out, there was an AI program that was supposed to appear to players to comfort them should they be under a lot of stress. Unfortunately, not only was prevented from doing so, she apparently had a front row seat to every horrible thing that happened in the game.

…Yeah, Kayaba was a douche.

Unfortunately, after she saved Kirito, Asuna, and a couple of other people from what was supposed be a bonus dungeon, the game system wiped her out. Or rather, it tried to – fortunately, Kirito was able to save her as an item, with the data being saved on his NerveGear.

After the dinner, we sat around and lounged for a bit a bit. Agil and Klein were the first to leave, wanting to call it a night early so they could prepare for the fight in the morning. As Athena, Kirito, and Asuna talked in the kitchen for a bit, Lancer and I shot the breeze in the sitting area.

"So what's your plan for when this is all over?" Lancer asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Are you talking about the boss fight or the game?"

"The game." He leaned forward. "And for when you get out."

"Other than spending time with my family and getting in contact with Athena, I don't know." I shrugged. "Apparently, Athena is going to make arrangements so I can get a lawyer that could really fight for me and at least get a retrial."

"Really now?" Lancer smirked.

"Yeah. Apparently, she's kind of famous in Japan."

"…I know," Lancer said sheepishly. I raised an eyebrow. He sighed. "I didn't recognize her at first. But the more I saw her, the more I realize that she was an Idol."

"…Ah jeez." I leaned back in my seat shook my head. He didn't have to clarify – he was familiar with her work.

"I didn't want to say anything," he continued. "It's kind of awkward."

"Kind of?"

"Okay, VERY awkward." He cleared his throat before he spoke again, bringing the conversation back to the previous topic. "Anyway, the reason I ask what your plan is because… well, you ever written an article before?"

"Can't say that I have," I said with a shake of my head. "Closest thing I ever did was write an essay."

"Well, if you feel like writing is your speed, and you end up in Japan… we could use a guy at Zero One Gaming. Plus, working with you outside this game would be a pleasure."

"I'm not gonna lie – with Athena living over there, Japan is looking more attractive day by day." 

"Just say the word, man."

"Alright," I nodded. "Thanks a lot."

After that, Athena and I left, bidding Kirito, Asuna, and Lancer our farewells before we did so. When we left, we took a detour to the 1st Floor. Once there, we ended up at the church. I stood in front of the doors for a few seconds before I turned to Athena.

"Hey, can you keep a lookout for me?" I asked. "I just need some minutes alone."

"Are you sure?" Athena asked.

"I'm sure. Message me if anything goes down."

As Athena nodded, I stepped up to the church and pushed open the doors.

As I walked in, I looked around the place, seeing if anyone was in there. I was by myself – the only thing moving was the flickering flames that encompassed the wicks which they were burning, illuminating the red carpet and seats. So I started walking down the aisle, flanked by many rows of pews. I didn't stop walking until I was a few feet away from the altar.

I stopped in my tracks as I looked up at the cross. I then dropped to my knees.

If I could be honest, I wasn't so sure what religion affiliation I considered myself a part of. Maybe Christian would be the best fit, but even that I was stretch. I didn't consider myself a godly person. When I was on the football field, I had no problem saying a bunch despicable stuff just to get under my opponent's skin. Prior to being imprisoned, I was prone to have a dirty mouth. While I was a virgin, I wasn't planning for saving it for marriage… and honestly, if I was 18 or Athena was 17, we would have been intimate with each other a long time ago.

But, even with all that, I still held the belief of God's existence. And at the very moment, I had quite a bit to pray about… and quite a bit to vent and rage to him about. So I brought my forehead and palms to the ground, closed my eyes, and just let it all out, thanking him for the blessings and angrily questioning why he'd allow a man like Kayaba to trap all of us within the game. I capped it all off by praying that we, the Clearers, made it through the next boss raid okay. By the time I was done, I was standing with a ragged breath a light layer of sweat on my brow.

"Are you good now?"

I looked over my shoulder to see Athena standing there. I took in a breath and nodded.

"You think He heard all of that?" she asked as I turned around and walked up to her.

"…I hope so," I said as I came to a stop in front of her.

She smiled slightly. She then stepped forward and pulled me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around her and returned the gesture as I rested my face on her.

"We're going to get through this," Athena whispered into my ear. "I promise."

After that, we went home and retired for the night.

The next morning, we all geared up. With the new leather armor made from the hide of the Scourge of Nemea gave me quite the defensive boost without giving me a hit to my speed. And there was the black wolf pelt, known as The Coat of Fenrir. It gave me a bonus to strength and speed, along with the Reaper's Grace… which I still didn't know what it does. I equipped my Wolf Fang, which was upgraded by Lisbeth, resulting in the weapon being more strong and accurate.

I was ready to go.

Or, at least, I was as ready as I'd ever was going to be.

When all the Clearers gathered around the teleport gate, we all engaged in small talk, cracking jokes and just talking about each other's mornings. It was par the course. And then Heathcliff checked to see if we were ready to go. Once we were deemed ready, we all marched through the gate. Once we arrived on the 75th Floor, we travelled straight to the cave containing the boss's room. Once we reached the door, Heathcliff took time remind everyone of the circumstances surrounding this boss, emphasizing the fact that we had no info on it. After that, he pushed open the door. The combined forced double-timed it into the room. I heard a galloping sound to my left. I looked in that direction to see Lancer, who was dressed in what looks like a different version of the KoB armor – specifically, the white was replaced with black. I then glanced to my right, wanting to see if Athena was nearby. She was. After taking in a breath, I looked forward.

We reached the middle of the room. And that was when everyone slowed to a stop and readied their weapons. I slowly unsheathed my sword as I looked around, trying to spot the boss, just everyone else. Things grew a bit tense as the doors to the room closed.

"Looks like there's no turning back now," Athena said. I looked over my shoulder.

"If only we knew what would be turned back from," I replied. I furrowed my eyebrows up. And then I got an idea. "Hey Kirito, are you nearby?"

"I am," Kirito replied from a distance.

"Think you can use that Hearing of yours to find the boss?"

"It could be worth a shot." I turned towards him and watched him as he bowed his head and closed his eyes. He remained like that for several moments. And then he suddenly opened his eyes and pointed upwards.

We all looked up to see… Well, I don't know to quite describe it. I was a basically a large centipede made up of bones, with its head being a skull of creature, monster, or alien I've never even fathom before. It growled as its HP bars showed. It also had two long, scythe-like front arms. And we finally got the name of it.

The Skull Reaper.

"…Oh… shit…" I muttered, letting loose a rare swear. And that's when it dived from the ceiling. The whole group scrambled, just barely making it out of its landing radius. Still, the impact was enough to send some of us flying.

"What the hell?!" Athena yelled out as she went through her equipment menu.

"Remember the plan!" Heathcliff yelled out. "Tanks, front and center!"

About 10 heavily armed men charged forward, readying their shields, swords, and spears. The monster, without hesitation, swiped at them with its arms, knocking them back as if they were like paper cups or something. My eyes went wide as I saw them land. And then they disappeared into red lights.

"That was half of our tanks!" someone exclaimed.

"Oh for goodness sake," I muttered. I watched as The Skull Reaper quickly moved around the battlefield, forcing the whole entire clearing force to play defense as they moved to dodge. And then it set its eyes on Athena and I. As Athena equipped her sword, she moved to my side. I readied my sword. As the monster started to rush us, there was only one thought that was going through my head.

 _This is going to suck!_


	18. Chapter 18

"…For the first time in a long while, I felt it," I said as I looked at Matt and Nancy. "I felt it – the fear of death again. I only felt it twice – the first time, it was in the beginning of the game. The second time was when the clearers took down Laughing Coffin. Other than that, prior to us facing this floor boss… it was basically how it was in real life. Like, in the back of your mind, you know that the next instant could be your last moment on Earth. But, you never think about or dwell on it, you know?

"But at that moment, when I saw that beast bear down on us… after it went through half of our tanks like tissue paper, the only thing I could think of was that it was there was a possibility I could die there. I wasn't going to see my mom, dad, and little brother again. I wasn't going to see any of my friends here in the prison or in the game anymore."

"But, as we can clearly see, you didn't," Matthew responded. "How did you take down this boss?"

"I'm not quite sure," I said. "Luck… skill… perhaps a mix of both…"

88888888888

At the last second, Athena and I parted ways, jumping away from each other to dodge this creature or fiend or whatever one would use to describe such an abomination. On instinct, I reached for my special darts and tossed three of them at the beast. All three of them hit their mark. And all three of them did nothing.

"Of course!" I yelled out. We watched it as it went after Heathcliff. The leader of KoB held his shield up. The beast crashed face-first into the shield, pushing Heathcliff back several feet. If the shield had a scratch on it, I couldn't tell. Interestingly enough, the monster didn't try to attack Heathcliff again. Instead, it went after other people. As it scurried, I went through my equipment menu. After some seconds, I was able to equip my shuriken. And that was when I ran after the monster.

As it tried to run after someone else, I changed my angle to try and meet it. As soon as I was close enough to toss them, I immediately let them fly at the boss's legs. Once they made contact, the creature stopped in its tracks. It wasn't from any damage though. It immediately turned its attention on me.

"… Oh crap," I muttered. It immediately dived for me, but I was just able to move out of the way.

Or so I thought.

I didn't see it coming. Its tail came out of nowhere. Before I knew it, I was stabbed through the chest before being tossed away. As I went sailing through the air, everything went into slow motion. I saw my life bar going down until it hit zero. I was done for. Slowly, I closed my eyes as my time in Aincrad flashed before them.

 _So this is how I go out,_ I thought to himself. _I'm sorry Athena – I won't need that lawyer after all._ Once I hit the ground, all I did was look up at the ceiling, waiting for my life to end. _…Well, at least I died free._

I closed my eyes. And that's when I heard the footsteps approaching me.

"QUINTON!" I heard a voice yell before I heard someone slide to my side. I opened my eyes as I looked up. Kneeling next to me was Athena. Standing around me was Klein, Agil, and Lancer (still on his horse). I even saw Kirito and Asuna standing some feet away, standing guard.

"…I'm not dead?" I said as I sat up. I looked at my health bar – I was at about 25 percent.

"Apparently not," Athena said as she pulled out a potion. "I thought you were. We all thought you were."

"But… I saw my life bar hit zero. How did…?" I trailed off. That's when the conversation Athena and I had on the night of my birthday came back to me. "…Reaper's Grace." I looked down on my arms, seeing that I was no longer wearing the pelt. I then looked at Athena. "You saved me just now, you know?"

"We're even," Athena replied with a smile. She then put the potion to my mouth. "Drink."

I nodded. I opened my mouth as Athena began to pour. I gently placed my hands on top of hers as I drunk the potion. Once it was finished, my health bar completely filled. Athena then tossed the empty bottle away. I stood up, cracking my neck.

"We need to take that thing down," Klein said as he readied my sword. He then looked over at Asuna. "Any ideas, Captain?"

"When did you start calling me that?" Asuna asked with a hint of amusement. She then bowed her. After some seconds, she nodded. "Remember the Stone Giant?"

"You think that will work here?" Kirito asked as he readied his sword.

"I think that's our best shot," Asuna said. "If we can take it down to ground level, the whole entire force can swarm it."

"It's about the best plan I heard all day," I said. I went through my menu before equipping my newest grappling hook – The Shadow's Reach – along with a wolf pelt.

I guess I was married to The Phantom Wolf King moniker.

"Just be careful," Agil warned. "I don't think the Reaper is going to forgive you a second time."

"Noted," I said. "Lancer, you ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," he said, readying his horse. I nodded, then looked back at Athena.

"Love… in case I don't make it…"

"We WILL make it," she interjected with finality. "Just focus on taking down The Skull Reaper."

"Yes ma'am." I smiled. I then looked at Asuna. "On your signal, Captain Flash."

"Go!" Asuna yelled. Immediately, Lancer and I charged forward. I reached behind my back and pulled out three picks. I then surged forward, using my top speed to close the gap. I then brought my hand forward, sending the picks flying. After some seconds, they hit their mark – its head. It did jack all, damage-wise, but I got its attention.

"Oh, you didn't like that?" I mockingly asked in plain English. "Well, we're gonna put you in the dirt soon, so don't worry your head about it!"

I don't know if it understood what I said. But it seemed like it as it started to charge for me. As it did, Lancer broke off, averting his path. I knew what he was going to do.

I waited until the creature to dive out of the way. I immediately ran out of the way, then jumped, just dodging its tail.

"Not this time," I said as I skidded to a stop. I spun the hook in my right hand until it glowed.

"ANCHOR TO THE OTHER WORLD!" I yelled out as I threw it. It went sailing through the air and before it was embedded in the creature's lower jaw. I then suddenly yanked on the chain and planted my feet. He tried to pull away, but I stood my ground, using all of my strength to keep myself grounded.

"GUNGNIR STRIKE!" I heard Lancer yell from the distance. That was when a glowing spear went sailing through the air, hitting the creature in the side of the neck. The Skull Reaper screamed as it slowly shuffled. That was when Agil and Klein ran on the scene. With their weapons glowing, they went to town. Klein sliced off some of its legs with his katana while Agil shattered two of its vertebrae with his large battle axe.

"Athena, go!" Asuna yelled out. Athena charged forward, her Touch of Nemea claws equipped. She jumped on the creature's back and ran up its spine. Once she reached the back of its skull, she hands started to glow.

"Lion Lunge!" she roared out before sent three slashes towards the back of its skull. The creature fell forward, hitting the ground with a huge thud. Athena hopped off of it and landed by my side.

"Asuna, Kirito!" she yelled out. "It's your turn now!"

Without a word, the two of them surged forward. Like they've done countless times with other bosses and enemies, they put on a display of synchronized attacks. As a matter of fact, I couldn't even see them – all I saw was red and black streaks of light across the air as pieces of the boss was being chipped away. Slowly, the beast staggered. After Kirito and Asuna landed on their feet, Asuna raised her rapier in the air.

"EVERYONE, ATTACK!" she yelled out.

We all charged the beast. As I did so, I switched my equipment, equipping my Wolf Fang. As everyone reached the beast, they just picked a spot and slashed/hammered away. We didn't stop until the beast finally fell to the ground and shattered in red lights.

I didn't even look up at the Congratulations message. I didn't even look over the experience or loot. I hit the Accept button before I sat down. Well, I didn't so much sit down as I basically crumbled on to my butt from exhaustion. After some seconds, I heard Heathcliff's voice. I think he was trying to give us a speech to keep the morale from plummeting. It wasn't working – at least, not for me. All I could do was think about the next 25 floors, and what they had in store for us.

I wasn't liking our chances to clear this game.

Some seconds later, I felt some arms gently close around me.

"Twenty-five more floors of this," I said as I leaned backward into Athena. I frowned. "At the rate we're going, we may have one more year of this."

"I fear you may be right," Athena said. She brought her chin on top of my right shoulder, placing her cheek against mine. "But I guess that is to be expected. …Are you discouraged?"

"A little bit," I admitted. I then shrugged slightly. "I'm sure I'll get over it after a few days of R&R."

"It sounds like a trip to Coral is in order."

At that, I managed to smile, albeit only a little bit. "It sounds like you're right."

That smile faded from my face when I saw Kirito dash across my view, sword drawn. My eyes widened when I saw him zero in on Heathcliff.

"What is Kirito doing?!" Athena said as she stood up. We found out mere seconds later.

By the time Heathcliff saw Kirito, it was too late. Kirito brought his sword forward, tip-first.

It should have been over for Heathcliff. Heathcliff should have been stabbed in the face. Heathcliff should have been dead on the ground. And Kirito should have been confronted by an angry mob of clearers.

Notice how I said "should have". None of that happened.

Instead, the tip of Kirito's sword stopped mere inches away from Heathcliff's head, blocked by some invisible force field, barrier, or whatever the proper term for it is. And then I saw a purple hexagonal sign appear next to Heathcliff's head.

My mouth went ajar.

That was the Immortal Object sign.


	19. Chapter 19

"So, this Immortal Object sign," Matthew began. "What did it signify?"

"Basically, it signified an object that was indestructible," I said. "It normally pops up whenever someone punched a wall or structure. So, basically, an Immortal Object couldn't be destroyed or even damaged with even the most powerful attack – I think that feature was put in case someone in the game decided they wanted to go on a wrecking spree and destroy every building or landmark in sight."

"So that means a player wouldn't be marked as an Immortal Object, then."

"Not even in the towns." I shook my head as I said so. "And definitely not in a boss room. So, because of Kirito, we found out that Heathcliff was really…"

88888888888

"…Akihiko Kayaba," Kirito declared.

I was at this point that whole entire attack force was surrounding Kirito and Heathcliff. I heard a lot of people mumble amongst themselves. I was barely paying attention to the words they exchanged. My mind started to race back in time, thinking about the different clues that became glaringly obvious.

Hindsight is 20/20.

Other than the few times when I gotten some bad vibes form Kayaba, there was the fact that I've never once seen his Health Bar in the red, or even in the yellow. There was the fact that his armor and weapon set was the same throughout his whole time in the game. And then there was his duel Kirito. Like I said before, his speed was unreal – even by game standards.

"…Son of a…" I muttered to myself, completing that statement in my head. I felt like an idiot. By the time my attention was back on the conversation at hand, there was only one word that had come to mind. "Why?"

"Pardon?" Kayaba asked.

"Why?" I repeated. "Why? What is the point of all this? Why trap us in this game?"

"My reason?" he said as he looked at me. "I did it to make a statement. Specifically, I wanted to make a statement against gaming culture."

"…Gaming culture?" I tilted my head.

"Exactly that," he said. He looked out towards everyone. "Time and time again, we've seen the horrible side of it – the attacking of journalists, the casual racism and misogyny in in-game voice chats, the treatment of females within the industry, the backlash a company gets for 'censorship', the swatting… I could go on. For so many years, we've seen such toxic behavior. And have things gotten better? No – it has only gotten worse, to the point where, prior to this game's launch, I saw a forum full of degenerates bragging about being able to continue their behavior in an immersed environment. As such, I decided to use this game – a game that was supposed to be a milestone in gaming – to take a stand."

The whole room went silent. Even I was at a loss for words. I felt the urge to say something, but nothing would come out.

However, after several moments, someone did say something.

"OOOOOOOOH go fuck yourself!" Lancer yelled out as he walked up to my left side.

Kayaba looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Excuse me?" he replied.

"You heard me, Kayaba," Lancer snapped. "You can go fuck yourself! Like, seriously, I get it. I'm a gamer and a gaming journalist. I'm not going to say what you're saying is untrue. I've seen it. I've seen Gamer Gate. I've seen the toxic side of online gaming. And honestly, you'd be disgusted by my inbox the moment I write any review that doesn't give a perfect 10 to a game that is supposed to be the second coming of The Messiah. I'd be lying if I said there wasn't any scumbags in gaming.

"There are two problems with your whole stance. Right off the bat, you have us all trapped in a death game. And with about 4,000 people having died at this point, that makes you a mass murderer. But even if I was willing to overlook that fact – which, for the record, I don't – look around you! Do you know who you trapped? You trapped little children. You trapped adults who were looking for a brief refuge from their normal 9-5 life. You trapped who wanted to experience something new with their friends. Among us now, there is a man who is trying to get home to his wife and a boy who is fighting to help get back to the real world despite that meaning going back to a life of wrongful incarceration.

"So you know what? As far as I'm concerned, you should die slow!"

"I agree with that!" I heard Schmitt say as he stood and ran forward, sword drawn. Even I was ready to attack, as I subconsciously reached for my menu.

And that was when felt a sudden force hit me in the side of the head. That was when I blacked out.

By the time I came to, I wasn't in the boss room anymore. I was lying on some grass. I groaned as confusion took over my features as I slowly sat up. It took a moment to realize where I was. Then it hit me – I was near the lake of the 22nd Floor.

"The heck?" I said.

"So you finally woke up," I heard a voice said. I looked to my right to see Athena, who had on a sad smile as she took a seat next to me. She was still dressed in her armor. I looked at her for some seconds. I then tilted my head.

"What happened?" I asked. "Is everyone okay? What happened to Kayaba? Are we still stuck here? And –?"

"Slow down, Love," Athena said with a chuckle. "I knocked you out."

"You did?" I raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I was afraid you were going to do something that would get you killed. You did start to reach for a weapon."

"…You're right," I conceded. "But what happened with Kayaba."

That was when tears rolled down from her eyes, which were already stained red. I couldn't help but feel something at the pit of my stomach.

"Kirito defeated Kayaba in a duel to release everyone from the game," she answered. "Slowly, but surely, we're all being logged out. It turns out, Kayaba was supposed to be the final boss of the game." She smiled a bit wider. "We're going home, Love. We're finally going home." She sounded happy… but also sad.

"…Why are you sad, Suzuna?" I asked, concern taking over my face.

"…Asuna and Kirito…" she began, but went quiet. She tried to speak again. "Asuna and Kirito…" She then clenched her eyes shut and bared her teeth. She opened her eyes, letting fresh tears fall down her cheek. She then shook her head. I stared at her for several moments. Then it sunk in what she was saying. My breathing started to get heavier, my heart rate started to rise, and my eyebrows furrowed up.

"No…"

I slowly stood up and walked a few steps away from her. At that moment, I was thinking there was no way. There was no freaking way that Kirito and Asuna ate it. They were the two most powerful players in the game.

"…No…"

"Quinton!"

"No, this can't be!" I yelled out as I stopped in my tracks and turned to face her. "This wasn't supposed to happen, okay?! We were all supposed to survive this! You and I were supposed to meet up with Kirito and Asuna once I was out of prison."

"I know."

"We were supposed to have like a double date with at Agil's café and talk about the good times we managed to have in this game!" My voice started to crack and, for the first time in a long while, I felt my tear ducts start to go to work.

"I know."

"And then we were supposed to just go from there, you know? I'd take that job offer from Lancer. We would get Lancer and Klein each a girlfriend they were always looking for. I'd see more of Japan, and we'd finally meet Agil's wife and…!"

"I know!" Athena closed the gap between the two of us and wrapped her arms around me. "…I know." I started to bawl into her shoulder. I don't know how long I was crying for, but it seemed like forever before I was able to pull myself together. For all I knew at the time, I lost two of my closest friends.

Nah, scratch that. I thought I lost family that fateful day.

By that time, Athena pulled away and placed her hands on my face.

"They fought for us, you know," she said as she looked into my eyes. "It sucks that they died. It really, really does. But we have to keep living, for them, you know." All I could do was nod, not trusting my voice. She gave me a sympathetic smile before she got down on her knees. She tugged on my wrist, urging me to do the same. Once I did, she wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me into a kiss. The kiss was a long one, and I let myself get lost in it. We only pulled apart when we heard the sound of rubble. We looked around us, seeing the whole floor disintegrating around us. As we looked on, I reached out and held her hand with my own.

"So this is really the end," I said. "Back to life…"

"…Back to reality," Athena finished. That's when our bodies started to glow. With a smile, Athena turned towards me. I smiled back as the light enveloped us. I heard three last words from her.

"Wait for me."

Things went black. And then I woke up once again. I blinked slowly, as my vision was a bit blurred. It took some time to clear up. Once it did, I slowly looked around, taking in the room around me. I then looked down at my body, seeing I was dressed in a hospital gown. I groaned as I lifted my arms. I looked at them, noticing that they were rather skinny, and that there were IVs in them. Sighing, I placed my arms back down and closed my eyes.

I then just waited.

88888888888

"Well, I think that wraps it up," Matthew said. I nodded as I leaned back in my seat.

"So what's next?" I asked.

"Well, we have to submit this information to the judge so he can review it. And from there, we have to argue that you're not a threat to society. If all goes well, you should be out of here by next week. And then… you know."

I smiled. "Here's hoping."


	20. Chapter 20

After the testimony, I waited patiently. I passed the time by working out, reading the books in library, teaching my cellmate Donnie some Japanese before he was released, and telling the whole cellblock about my time in Sword Art Online. I told all of them bits and pieces before, but I never got a chance to fully sit down and tell it to them. Even Officer Hanley took time to listen in.

Really, he was a firm guy, and could be a jerk at times, but he was quite the nice guy underneath it all.

After some days passed, I finally got a visit to the cell. It was not just Hanley, but Matthew, Nancy, and Matthew's partner at the firm – Cindy Wade.

"I see you've been keeping yourself busy," Cindy said with a slight smile. "How are you, Quinton?"

"I'm good," I said. I walked up to the bars. "A little lonely as of lately, with Donnie getting time off for good behavior and all." I smiled. "How did the hearing go?"

"…There wasn't a hearing," Matthew said. As he said this, Hanley stepped up cell door and went about unlocking it.

"What?" I tilted my head in confusion. "Why?"

"Certain things came into play prior to that. But as it is, you're a free man, now, albeit with some caveats."

"Caveats?"

"Yeah. It's better to let a certain… benefactor… explain once we get to our destination."

It was a bit of a trip. After going through the release procedure, I was taken to a clothes store, where I bought clothes on Matthew and Cindy's dime. I was reluctant at first, but they reminded me of the cash that they were paid to take me on as a client. I decided to go the semi-formal, with a black blazer over a white button up, a black pair of slacks, and black casual leather shoes.

Once we were done, we ended up in Downtown Fort Lauderdale – specifically, the Las Olas area. We ended up at this riverfront restaurant – The Boatyard. After Matt talked to the host, the latter guided us to an outdoor table, where a man was already waiting for us.

"Ah Chalquin," he said in plain English, smile on his face. "It's nice to finally put a face to the name." I froze in my tracks. I then tilted my head.

"Are you an SAO survivor as well?" I asked as Matt, Cindy, and Nancy took a seat at the table.

"Not quite," Matt said as he signaled me to take a seat. As I did so, he continued. "But he knows a lot."

"Perhaps it would be best to formally introduce myself," the man said. He brought his right hand out. "The name is Seijirou Kikuoaka, member of the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, specifically, the VR World Division."

"I guess there's no point in introducing myself, then," I said. Still, I took his hand and gave it a shake. "I take it you're the benefactor Mr. Walters here told me about."

"I am," he confirmed. "I take it you have a lot of questions."

"A few – the first being how did you manage to get me released? I doubt the DA all of a sudden had a change of heart."

"It was a matter of jurisdiction," Seijirou said. "Despite the fact you entered the game from here in the United States, everything that happens in this game lies within the jurisdiction of my division. Considering that all of the players were trapped against their will in a state with no recognized governing body, there couldn't be charges brought up against you if one even tried. So, as such, you're a free man."

"…Thanks," I said, taking a moment to let it all sink in.

"Thankful as we are, I have to ask – why did it take so long for you to come find Quinton?" Cindy inquired. "We could have used you a month ago after it was ordered that he remained locked up."

"Finding Quinton proved to be rather difficult, since the NerveGear he used wasn't registered under his name – or anyone's. Until recently, we didn't even have a name to put on the profile. All we knew you as was Chalquin, Player 10,001."

"10,001?" Matthew asked.

"Because the special copy of the game – the one that was pre-loaded on your NerveGear – was the 10,001st copy of the game made available."

"...I see," I said. I then tilted my head. "Um… Mr. Walters have stated there was some… caveats?"

"…Ah, about that." Seijirou straightened himself up. "As you probably know, Argus is no more. Kayaba has been rendered deceased after doing a high frequency scan of his brain to try and put his conscious in the internet permanently."

"Is such a thing even possible?" Matthew asked as raised an eyebrow.

"In theory, it is. But, there hasn't been any prior attempt to do so as far as anyone knows."

"…Huh…"

"But I digress," Seijirou said. He then continued. "Argus has filed for Bankruptcy and has sold their rights to The Cardinal System. More than that, the gaming industry took a hit, and that's threatening the economy worldwide. Because of that, certain parts of the story has to be kept under wraps, so to speak."

I raised an eyebrow. "…Such as…"

"Kayaba's motive," Seijirou said.

"Yeah, screw that noise," I said as I leaned back in my seat.

"Quinton…" Cindy said sternly. "Don't cause a scene!"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not covering for Kayaba. He can rot for all I care!"

"I can understand your anger, but please think with a cool head." Seijirou leaned forward. "Gaming is a huge part of life, business wise. While what Kayaba did was reprehensible, to say the very least, he's only the head of one company. This could impact a whole industry. This industry has a lot of people working in it, such as designers, writers, programmers… it is an industry where science and art meet. As it is, these have bills to pay and families to feed."

I sighed as I leaned back in my seat. "And you're looking out for them," I said. I shook my head. I really didn't want to cover for Kayaba, but I didn't hate the dude enough to risk screwing with a lot of people's livelihoods. "So, what am I supposed to say?"

"Hopefully nothing. The media knows that there are 6,000 survivors, give or take, but they don't know the exact identities of those survivors. They'll find out eventually, but we're not exactly going out of our way to disclose them. However, should you be in any position where they you are asked, then give them the answer we gave them."

"And that is?"

I was expecting some big time excuse – that Kayaba was killed and an assailant took over his identity while screwing with the system, or that a hacker group took over the game on launch for some motive that is still under investigation. But no, that wasn't what I got. What was the "official answer"?

"Tell them that Kayaba stated… he forgot."

I almost flipped the table over right there and then.

Instead, I swallowed before speaking again.

"So what other caveats are there?" I asked.

"Well, my agency is establishing a school for the survivors that are still of high school age," Seijirou said. "As you can imagine, the Japanese Government is a little bit… apprehensive… of allowing the survivors to integrate with the general population, so it will allow kids to get the proper schooling while allowing my agency to observe them."

"And I'm guessing this is the part where you ask me to join this school," I said.

"It would be a little more than that. When my agency was subpoenaed for records, I took some interest in your case and, by extension, your background. I know quite a bit about you, Mr. Chalmers – how you were pegged as the next star high school football player in your state and your great academic performance, both of which has gotten you a lot of attention from more than quite a few high acclaimed colleges and universities across the nation despite the fact that you were merely a sophomore. All of that was taken from you because you made the mistake of trusting the wrong person.

"I don't know if you plan on staying in the U.S. or not, but I do know that you already have some connections in Japan, especially a rather close relationship with Suzuna Toganou. And there is another school that is willing to allow you to dual-enroll. Said school has an American Football Club that is looking for members for the upcoming season. On top of that, we'll set you up with a home and some starter money to hold you until you find a job, and even give you special dual citizenship. Basically, I'm offering you a chance at a fresh start."

"…And how long will I have to move?" I asked. "…I just want some time to spend with my family before I move."

"Would two months, suffice?"

"…It would."

"So it's settled?"

"Yes it is," I confirmed with a smile.

"Good. Now, while we're here. Let's eat. And don't be shy – we're eating on the government's credit line."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Then in that case…"

About an hour later, I was in front of the house my parents lived in, arms full of bags containing to-go boxes, which was full of food. I stood in front of the door for some seconds, wondering if anything changed. What was new in their lives? Actually, what was different in my brother's life? Did they ever tell him the real reason I got locked up? And more than that, how I was going to explain to them that I was going to go away? And will they ask about everything that happened in the game? I just knew I had a lot to them about. And I wasn't even sure how I was going to tell them.

But, isn't that what a family meal is for?

"This is gonna be one interesting meal time," I said. I then brought my foot forward and kicked the door a few times, unable to knock the door with my hands at the moment.

I smiled, knowing I was going to catch heat for kicking the door.

8888THE END8888


End file.
